The federal government intends to maintain its schedule for the pension commission, even following controversial statements about pensions made by Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz of the CDU. A spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Labour told the dpa news agency on Wednesday that, “We have repeatedly stated that we expect the results from the commission by the end of June” adding that “political action will then follow from that”.
However, government spokesman Stefan Kornelius stated that the Chancellor’s comments, made at the annual reception of the German Federation of Banks (BdB), cannot be interpreted as setting a framework for the pension commission. Merz had suggested that the statutory pension insurance would only serve as a basic safety net in the future. Kornelius clarified to the dpa that, “It is a single sentence and therefore not a framework, and it does not predate any result”.
The Chancellor’s statements have generated sharp criticism, coming from opposition parties, the coalition partner SPD, and even segments within the CDU itself.
