Dennis Radtke, the EU Parliament member from North Rhine-Westphalia and chairman of the Christian Democratic Workers’ Association (CDA), has launched a criticism against the Mothers’ Pension, a program pushed by the CSU. He argues that this initiative, which he calls a “CSU prestige project,” is ill-advised. According to Radtke, there currently lacks sufficient funding to fully counteract the effect of cold progression on income tax, yet the state is dedicating five billion euros to the Mothers’ Pension-a benefit that fails to reach those who genuinely require it, a situation he deems difficult to justify.
Radtke suggests that these funds should instead be allocated to provide tax relief or establish hardship regulations related to the planned abolition of the “Rente mit 63” (Pension at 63).
His counterproposal is that the five billion euros should be used to facilitate the generally expected compensation for cold progression. Furthermore, these funds could finance hardship measures for specific occupational groups who would be particularly affected by the removal of the aforementioned “Rente mit 63.” The CDA chairman concluded by stating that the Mothers’ Pension does not benefit those on low retirement incomes, as those payments are offset by the basic security provisions.
