(de-news.net) – Germany’s proposed pension reform has triggered renewed political divisions over abolishing the pension at 64.5, with Pension Commission members warning that removing individual measures could undermine the financial balance of the entire package, while eastern state leaders continue pressing for regional concerns to be reflected in the final legislation.
In an effort to balance the burdens of reform, the Pension Commission deliberately distributed the costs of a far-reaching pension overhaul across employees, employers, retirees, and the self-employed, according to economist Martin Werding, who urged Germany’s CDU/CSU-SPD coalition not to reopen its planned pension package. He argued that removing a single component would undermine the broader political compromise that had been carefully negotiated. Werding described retirement without benefit reductions after 45 years of contributions as a preferential provision that primarily benefited above-average earners and questioned whether other groups would remain willing to shoulder the costs of the reform if such exceptions were preserved. In his view, altering one key element risked upsetting the balance on which the entire package had been constructed.
His comments came as debate intensified over the early retirement provision commonly known as the “pension at 63,” exposing divisions over one of the reform’s most politically sensitive elements. While several state premiers have argued in favor of retaining the measure, CDU/CSU parliamentary leader Thorsten Frei maintained that the coalition had no room to reverse its agreed course. It also remains uncertain whether the legislation will ultimately require approval from the Bundesrat. The Federal Ministry of Labor said it was not yet in a position to comment on the legal details of the draft legislation but reaffirmed that the government’s objective remained securing parliamentary approval by the end of 2026.
Fellow Pension Commission member Jörg Rocholl likewise warned the governing coalition against separating the abolition of the early retirement provision from the broader reform package. He argued that the commission had consistently presented its recommendations as an integrated framework whose individual measures were designed to reinforce one another, rather than as a menu of optional policies. Rocholl cautioned that preserving the early retirement rule could also place other planned reforms at risk, including the proposed expansion of funded pension components. In his assessment, modifying any single recommendation would weaken the coherence and effectiveness of the overall reform package.
Pascal Reddig, the Pension Commission’s deputy chairman, similarly argued that removing individual elements from the package would jeopardize its overall balance. He maintained that the current early retirement provision had failed to achieve its original objective of enabling workers in physically demanding occupations to retire earlier while imposing annual costs running into the double-digit billions of euros. For that reason, the commission recommended replacing the existing arrangement with a more targeted protection pension for individuals whose health had been significantly affected by demanding working conditions. According to Reddig, the proposed reforms were financially sustainable only if implemented as a comprehensive package, with each measure supporting the broader objectives of the overhaul.
Eastern leaders press regional concerns
Saxony-Anhalt Premier Sven Schulze said he did not fundamentally oppose the proposed reform but called for the next phase of political negotiations to give greater consideration to the employment histories and living conditions of eastern Germans. His remarks reflected broader criticism in eastern Germany of the commission’s recommendation to abolish retirement without benefit reductions after 45 years of contributions. Schulze described the commission’s final report as the foundation for the upcoming political deliberations and said the eastern state premiers would continue to press their concerns in discussions with the Federal Government to ensure that regional perspectives were adequately reflected during the legislative process.
CSU lawmaker Florian Dorn also defended the commission’s recommendations, criticizing several state premiers for seeking to preserve the so-called “pension at 63.” He said the governing coalition had committed itself to implementing the reform package in full, including the abolition of what he described as the privileged early retirement provision for particularly long-serving contributors, which he estimated costs nearly 10 billion euros annually. Dorn argued that eliminating the measure was an essential pillar of the broader strategy to stabilize Germany’s statutory pension system and safeguard its long-term financial sustainability across generations. He also noted that the CDU leadership had previously endorsed the reform and expressed confidence that the state premiers would ultimately support measures aimed at strengthening the pension system rather than weakening the overall compromise.
Dorn further argued that the premiers would likely have limited ability to block the measure in the Bundesrat because, as with the original introduction of the early retirement provision, its repeal would probably not require the chamber’s formal approval. At the same time, he acknowledged that the final constitutional and legislative position would depend on the content and structure of the Social Affairs Ministry’s draft legislation once it is presented. He warned that preserving the existing provision would threaten both the long-term stability of contribution rates and the future development of pension benefits, increasing financial pressure on younger generations while disadvantaging retirees who never qualified for the preferential early retirement arrangement. Framed more broadly, Dorn argued that altering a central component of the commission’s compromise could undermine the financial logic and long-term sustainability of the entire pension reform package.
