Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) wants to present the pension package II in the summer. The aim of the reform is to find long-term financing for pension insurance.
Berlin – The German government plans to present another pension package before the end of summer 2023. This was confirmed by a spokeswoman for the Ministry of Labour to IPPEN. MEDIA. When exactly in summer, however, is still open. She did not want to comment on speculation about the presentation of the law before the summer break, nor on rumours about another pension package, which is also said to be in the works.
Pension Package II: What is known so far
One thing is clear: According to the ideas of Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), the second pension package will deal with the share pension and the safeguarding of the pension level. The pension level in Germany is currently 48 percent – which means that retirees will receive an average of 48 percent of their last salary as a pension. According to the coalition agreement, this level is to be maintained "in the long term". The question everyone is asking is: what exactly does "long-term" mean?
This question is probably to be answered with the Pension Package II. According to an insider, it could be that the stop line, which currently secures the pension level at 2025 percent until 48, will be enshrined in law for further years. However, since the contribution rate must not rise above 2025 percent by 20, the question of financing must also be clarified.
And there comes the second point, which, according to Heil, will certainly appear in the pension package II: the share pension or the formation of a "generation capital". In this way, money for the pension fund is to be permanently invested in a fund. In a first step, 10 billion euros from the federal budget are to be dumped into the fund. According to experts, however, this is not enough to secure the pension. Therefore, it is eagerly awaited whether Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) will free up even more money with the pension package II.
The amount of the pension depends on various factors. © IMAGO/Michael Gstettenbauer
Pension: Compulsory retirement provision for the self-employed?
So much for the well-known plans. However, anyone who has been following Salvation's plans for a long time will notice that something is suddenly missing here: the pension obligation for the self-employed. In December 2022, Heil had confirmed that he wanted to launch a retirement provision obligation for the self-employed. In the spring of 2023, there is no trace of this.
In informed circles, it is said that Heil is still sticking to this plan, but that it should not be included in the pension package II. Instead, work is underway on a third pension package, which could come at the end of 2023. The Ministry of Labor declined to comment when asked.
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Around 2.3 million uninsured self-employed in Germany
In Germany, not all self-employed people are currently obliged to insure themselves in the pension fund. However, certain occupational groups that are considered "particularly vulnerable" are compulsorily insured. These include nurses, midwives, craftsmen and craftswomen as well as self-employed teachers. All other self-employed people can voluntarily pay into the pension fund – but do not have to. According to the Federal Statistical Office, only 3.9 percent are voluntarily insured.
13 percent of the working population in Germany do not pay into the pension fund. Of these, around 40 percent are self-employed – the rest are civil servants, marginally employed or unemployed. Around 2.3 million people could therefore pay into the pension fund in addition to compulsory insurance for the self-employed. That would be one way to prevent further increases in contributions.
