(de-news.net) – The CDU’s Economic Council has aligned itself firmly with calls for a later statutory retirement age, asserting that a systematic upward adjustment beyond the existing threshold of 67 had become unavoidable under present demographic and fiscal conditions. Wolfgang Steiger, the council’s secretary-general, argued that Germany’s old-age security framework required substantial modernization if it was to remain viable in the decades ahead. He underscored that the dual pressures of an aging population and the increasing financial strain placed on the pay-as-you-go pension system had eroded the long-term stability of current arrangements, making a recalibration not merely advisable but structurally necessary.
To bolster its case, the business association referred to developments in Sweden, Denmark, and the Netherlands—countries that Labor Minister Bärbel Bas had previously identified as potential reference points for German pension reform. According to the association’s analysis, Denmark intends to raise its retirement age incrementally from 67 to 70 between 2030 and 2040; Sweden is preparing to shift toward a statutory retirement age of 70; and the Netherlands has outlined a trajectory that would bring the retirement age to 71 by 2067. The organization characterized these international pathways as illustrative of a broader trend among advanced welfare states, noting that durable pension systems abroad typically rely on later labor-market exit, the integration of capital-funded components, and a more balanced distribution of demographic burdens across successive generations. In this context, the council implied that Germany risked falling behind its peers if it failed to pursue comparable reforms.
Running parallel to this debate, the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations urged the federal government to undertake far-reaching economic and social policy reforms in the coming year. Its president, Rainer Dulger, stated that the German economy remained mired in what he described as the most protracted downturn since the founding of the Federal Republic, and he argued that intensifying geopolitical tensions only heightened the imperative for domestic restructuring. Dulger called for substantial reductions in administrative and regulatory burdens, adjustments to welfare-state programs aimed at lowering non-wage labor costs, and tax reforms designed to increase households’ disposable income and strengthen Germany’s international competitiveness.
Although articulated from a different vantage point, labor-side assessments pointed to similar structural challenges. Christiane Benner, chair of IG Metall, contended that companies themselves bore increased responsibility in the present economic climate. She emphasized that many firms lacked the rapid internal decision-making processes and coherent long-term strategies required to navigate an environment characterized by uncertainty, technological transformation, and mounting competitive pressures. Broader macroeconomic projections likewise reflected these concerns: forecasts for the German economy anticipated only minimal GDP growth, following two consecutive years of recession, underscoring the fragile nature of the current recovery and the need for more decisive policy intervention.
