As of: March 27, 2024, 8:16 p.m
By: Lisa Mayerhofer
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Working until old age?
Employer representatives are calling for the abolition of the so-called “pension at 63” (symbolic image) © Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa
BGA President Dirk Jandura sharply criticizes the government's pension package.
He says: “We cannot afford early retirement – like the tax-free pension from the age of 63.”
Berlin - The pension will be increased significantly again in the summer, but the retirement age should not be changed: Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) confirmed this again in March.
This should please many pensioners and those who are about to retire.
However, there is also criticism of these decisions - mostly from employers.
Pension package II: BGA President praises stock pensions
There it is criticized that the early retirement of the baby boomers will create a shortage of skilled workers and that social spending will rise excessively.
“We have to face the realities.
People are not allowed to retire earlier, but should retire later,” says Dirk Jandura, President of the Federal Association of Wholesale, Foreign Trade, Services (BGA) in a statement.
It is urgently necessary to make pensions sustainable.
“A stock pension is a step in the right direction, towards intergenerational equity,” explains Jandura.
According to the new plans as part of the federal government's pension package, the generation capital - often simply called stock pension - is intended to relieve the burden on future contributors.
The government wants to invest at least 200 billion euros from federal funds on the capital market by the mid-2030s.
Premium increases should be dampened from the income.
Jandura: “We can’t afford early retirement”
“But that won’t be enough,” warns Jandura.
“We cannot avoid the necessary structural reforms.” According to the BGA president, pensions are already being subsidized with 81 billion euros from the federal budget, while people are also getting older and older.
“Therefore, there should be no incentives to shorten the period of employment subject to contributions.
We can’t afford early retirement – like the tax-free pension from the age of 63,” Jandura concludes.
“Instead, we need to provide incentives for more work.
We have to work more, in the week, in the year, in our lives.”
This demand is “a ‘no-go’ for many political parties”.
“But that’s the reality.
The state is already investing a lot of money into pensions, companies already have very high wage costs, which are another factor that has a negative impact on our competitiveness,” Jandura continues.
Employer president also against “pension at 63”
In fact, in addition to the BGA, other employer representatives are also calling for more far-reaching pension reforms: Employer President Rainer Dulger warned in the
Welt am Sonntag
: "First of all, the federal government must abolish incentives for early retirement, i.e. the tax-free 'pension at 63'."
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The so-called “pension at 63” is actually no longer a correct expression.
The term is aimed at pensions for “particularly long-term insured people” who have paid contributions for at least 45 years.
This meant that people born before 1953 could retire at the age of 63 without any deductions.
However, the age limit is currently increasing for younger people; for those born in 1964, this only applies from the age of 65.
For comparison: The general entry age for the statutory pension is currently being raised to 67 years.
However, the opportunity to retire earlier is often used - much to the annoyance of employer representatives.
However, Labor Minister Heil has so far rejected the abolition of the “pension at 63”.
“But the fact that people who have worked for over 45 years can retire without deductions at 64 or 65 is a requirement of fairness,” he told the
Tagesspiegel.
With material from dpa and AFP