(de-news.net) – In an initiative to ensure long-term stability in pension entitlements and to enhance the scope of the “Mütterrente” (mothers’ pension supplement), Federal Minister of Labour Bärbel Bas has introduced a comprehensive legislative proposal, advanced by the CDU/CSU and SPD. The legislative draft, under the leadership of the SPD, has entered the interministerial coordination phase. According to media sources, the realization of these coalition-driven reforms will necessitate substantial fiscal commitments from the federal government, with projected expenditures escalating to approximately 15 billion euros annually by 2030 and 20 billion euros by 2040.

Central to the proposed legislation is the statutory extension of the current pension guarantee — currently set to lapse in 2025 — mandating that pension levels remain at a minimum of 48 percent of average annual income until the year 2031. Additionally, the reform introduces a significant revision to the recognition of child-rearing periods: from 2028 onwards, parents of children born prior to 1992 will receive three years of pension-relevant credit, thereby superseding the existing provision of two and a half years.

The initiative marks Minister Bas’s inaugural venture into pension reform and reaffirms her resolve to uphold pension adequacy through the mobilization of considerable federal resources. Presently, federal contributions to the pension system exceed 100 billion euros per annum. Another salient measure under deliberation involves rescinding the prevailing reemployment prohibition applied to individuals who have reached the statutory retirement age, thus enabling a return to previous employments within a legal framework that facilitates labor market flexibility for older workers.