Will the pension system still hold up after those born in the 60s retire?
Employers in Germany suggest more incentives for extending working hours.
Berlin - Germany's employers have called for a debate on extending working life in Germany.
The pension system will not last in its current form, said employer president Rainer Dulger of the German press agency in Berlin.
"Our current financing for old-age provision actually looks old."
The problem is that the relationship between beneficiaries and contributors gets more and more out of whack when the cohorts born in the 1960s retire. “The federal government would have to fill the gap with tax money, but that is not a sustainable solution,” said Dulger. "One thing is clear: we cannot avoid a discussion about a longer working life."
Politicians have to be honest when it comes to pensions, said Dulger. "We need a pension policy that looks longer than the next election date." Making the pension grandchildren is a question of intergenerational equity, said Dulger. “Because I want my children to get an adequate pension too.” A long-term forecast and regular reports for all social security contributions are necessary. So the topic should be widely discussed in society.
Many people already like to work longer than the official retirement age. “We should provide more incentives to work longer within the framework that exists today,” said Dulger. "It doesn't make much sense, for example, for someone who has decided to work longer to continue paying into unemployment insurance, because he can no longer become unemployed." then that would be a real incentive, said Dulger. dpa
