Jörg Rocholl, an economist and member of the pension commission, has publicly accused the East German Prime Ministers of displaying ignorance and making factually incorrect claims regarding the ongoing pension dispute. Rocholl stated to the newspaper “Bild” that the East German Prime Ministers’ veto against the pension reform-specifically the abolition of the “pension at 63”-is completely wrong. He suggested that if the East German leaders truly intended to advance the cause, they ought to be supporting the change, not opposing it. Rocholl justified this position by arguing that the planned elimination of the pension at 63 would lead to an annual saving of ten billion euros. This money, he explained, should be allocated to building up the planned capital pension. He added, “If the pension at 63 were to remain, roughly ten billion euros annually would be missing for the establishment of the capital pension. However, East Germans would specifically benefit from this capital pension because it ensures overall higher pensions.”
Politics
