BSW politician Sahra Wagenknecht sharply criticized the potential raising of the retirement age to 70. Speaking to newspapers from the Funke media group, Wagenknecht described the proposal as “absolutely callous pension cuts” stating that “who can work until 70? That is completely detached from reality”. She added that such changes would primarily affect people relying solely on statutory pensions and who would lack opportunities to build up private savings.
Wagenknecht announced plans to raise the issue of pensions during the state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berlin. She declared that the elections in the East would be framed as a referendum on these pension plans, asserting that “all of this must never happen”.
According to a report in the newspaper “Bild”, experts from a committee meeting in private are allegedly advising a gradual increase of the retirement age from 67 to 70. This change is reportedly set to take effect starting in the early 2060s, impacting people born after 1990. Furthermore, the report mentioned a recommendation to gradually lower the pension level from 48 percent to 46 percent after 2031. However, sources within the committee have already denied reaching a consensus on these matters.
Addressing the situation, Wagenknecht noted that these proposals could cause the SPD to fall below five percent in Saxony-Anhalt. She also appealed to the CDU governing heads in Saxony-Anhalt and Berlin-Sven Schulze and Kai Wegner-as well as the SPD Minister-President in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Manuela Schwesig, asking for their reactions to the plans.
