The extended holding line for pension levels is projected to cost hundreds of millions of euros more this year alone. According to the news magazine “Focus”, citing the Budget Committee, the Federal Ministry of Labor is planning to request extraordinary expenditure in the coming weeks. Relevant budget officers reportedly received this information in an internal meeting in September, indicating potential additional costs of as much as 400 million euros.
While the exact figure remains undecided, the opposition is raising alarms. Green Party budget member Leon Eckert told “Focus”, “The federal government is overspending by hundreds of millions of euros just for this year, and it is likely to be even more in the coming years.” He stressed that such an error should not happen, suggesting there are only two possible explanations: either the Ministry made a gross calculation error or Parliament was misled.
The source of the increased costs lies in the fixing of the pension level at 48 percent until 2031, outlined in the first pension package-the extension of the so-called holding line. This package included a mechanism intended for the federal budget to cover the additional costs, preventing the Pension Insurance Fund from having to absorb them. However, the government had originally assumed that this mechanism would come into effect in 2029, not as early as 2026.
When questioned, the Ministry of Labor declined to provide answers, stating that it does not comment on ongoing budgetary negotiations.
