Germany eyes longer working lives in pension reform plan / Photo: Ina FASSBENDER - AFP
-
$1.8 Billion Pledged for Biodiversity at COP17 as Monaco Reaffirms Commitment
-
Karen Wazen Launches First Standalone Boutiques in Cairo
-
Phoenix Symphony Resumes Performances Amid Financial Uncertainty
-
Municipal Elections: How Service Failure Becomes a Public Health Crisis in South Africa
-
Turkish Energy Minister Highlights Qatar as Key Partner for Regional and Global Energy Security
-
Rene Eyre Revisits Autobiographical Performance 'Say A Little Prayer' in London
-
London Museum Granted 24/7 License Ahead of November Opening
-
UAE's HCT Holds Record Graduation and Announces Major Training Expansion
-
Dana White Confirms Flight to Washington for Trump Meeting on Press Secretary Role
-
NASA Awards $10B Lunar Contract Framework to SpaceX, Blue Origin
-
Dengue Fever Expands Into High Himalayas as Climate Change Warms Nepal
-
Katy Perry Tells Fans Ex-Husband Russell Brand 'Should Be in Jail' During UK Concert
-
IoT Refrigerator Hacks Disrupt Blood Labs and Supermarkets Across Europe and US
Germany eyes longer working lives in pension reform plan
Germany will raise its retirement age gradually beyond 67, abolish early retirement and expand compulsory pension contributions under a set of new recommendations backed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.
Germany, like many industrialised economies, is struggling with an ageing population and last year appointed an expert commission to come up with suggested reforms to its pension system.
Presenting its findings on Tuesday, the commission said the retirement age should be linked to life expectancy and gradually raised beyond 67 now.
It recommended abolishing a scheme that allows people to retire early at 63, and expanding compulsory pension contributions to include civil servants and self-employed workers.
"All elements of this reform package... must now be implemented swiftly," Merz told a press conference, adding that "we cannot afford to remove or reject individual measures".
Merz added that the proposals aim to meet "two goals: pensions remain secure, and the burdens are distributed fairly across all segments of society and across all generations".
Opposition parties and unions have voiced criticism of some of the proposals, which had previously been published in German media.
The left-wing party Die Linke said that under the changes people would be "working even longer, working even more".
The trade union Verdi said the proposal to scrap the early retirement scheme showed "a total disregard for the lifetime achievements of the people concerned".
The proposals must still be debated and voted on in parliament before becoming law.
In office for just over a year, Merz has struggled to deliver on his promises of sweeping reforms and a revival of Germany's stagnant economy.
Tensions have brewed between Merz's conservative CDU/CSU bloc, which has pushed for tougher welfare cuts, and their junior coalition partners, the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD).
However, the SPD on Tuesday also said it supported the pension recommendations, with Labour Minister Baerbel Bas declaring that she was "very confident" the reforms will be supported in parliament.
Around 19 million people in Germany were aged 65 or older -- about 23 percent of the total population -- in 2024, the latest year for which statistics are available.
In 1991, only 15 percent of the population was aged over 65.
T.Vitorino--PC
