CDU Vice-President Jens Spahn wants to abolish the pension at 63 – but with his initiative he finds no support in the traffic light government.
Munich/Berlin - Jens Spahn is not a friend of retirement at 63. "Live longer for every year, retire a month later," the CDU politician told the Tagesspiegel in December 2022. Less than six months later, he calls for the abolition of the unreduced pension at the age of 63 for long-term insured persons.
Spahn justifies his initiative with the shortage of skilled workers, which has been exacerbated by the retirement of skilled workers. Criticism comes mainly from the traffic light government. The Green Party leader spoke of "social coldness". The SPD described the proposal as "anti-meritocracious and unfair."
Abolition of the pension at 63: Green Party chairman accuses Spahn of "social coldness"
Green Party leader Ricarda Lang rejected the demand from the CDU/CSU. "Those who, like Jens Spahn, want to abolish the pension at 63, do not rely on flexibility, but on social coldness," Lang told the dpa news agency. "An abolition does not contribute to securing skilled workers, but would lead to a de facto pension reduction for many long-term insured people in physically demanding professions."
"Retiring at the age of 63 is also a tribute to the life's work of those who keep our country running – people who care for others for decades, who drive trucks or work in construction," Lang argued. It is true that clever answers to the shortage of labor and skilled workers are needed. A higher labour force participation of older people could also make a contribution, "where it is possible and desired".
"The traffic light has already significantly improved the incentives for recipients of the pension at 63," underlined the co-chair of the Greens.
The federal chairman of the Greens, Ricarda Lang, criticizes Jens Spahn's push to abolish the pension at 63. © M. Popov/IMAGO
Spahn proposal: Abolition of the pension at 63 - For SPD "ideological debate"
Criticism also came from the SPD. "The statements from the CDU on pensions miss the reality of life of many hard-working people," said Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil to the Berlin Tagesspiegel in theWednesday edition (May 31). "Pension cuts for people who started working early and paid in for a long time are anti-performance and unfair." It would be "desirable if the CDU and CSU were to deal more with the everyday lives of hard-working people than with ideological debates," he added.
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Heil pointed out that the labor force participation of older people had "risen sharply" over the past 20 years. "We are supporting this trend with more health prevention and further training," says Heil. Since this year, there are no longer any additional income limits for people who have taken early retirement. "This will contribute to securing skilled workers," said the SPD politician.
The current regulation was introduced in 2014 by the then black-red federal government and is aimed at "particularly long-term insured persons" who have paid contributions for at least 45 years. Those born before 1953 could retire at 63 without any deductions. For younger people born before 1963, this age limit increases gradually. From the year of birth in 1964, it is then back to 65 years, as it says in general information from the German Pension Insurance (vk/dpa).
