Pension Commission sends the right signals – Germany needs honest pension policy
The FDP Saar sees important reform signals in the proposals of the Pension Commission. Germany has postponed necessary decisions regarding pensions for far too long.
It was wrong to suspend the sustainability factor. The retirement at 63 was also wrong. Both have additionally burdened the pension fund, worsened the shortage of skilled workers, and put further pressure on the younger generation. Those who now talk about higher contributions must also say: Many problems have been caused politically.
The pension at 63 must be phased out quickly. Every form of state-subsidized early retirement must be critically examined. Those who can and want to work longer must not be pushed out of working life.
It is correct to link the retirement age to the increasing life expectancy. Honestly, this step should have been taken earlier. Given the increased life expectancy, the actual retirement age should already be higher today. At the same time, fair solutions are needed for people who can no longer work due to health reasons. Protection in cases of genuine reduced earning capacity is necessary. General early retirement is not.
Equally correct is the introduction of capital funding, which has been demanded by the FDP for years. However, capital funding must not be organized as another state-mandated fund. The FDP Saar calls for a personal, low-cost retirement savings account. The money must be individually assigned, broadly diversified, protected from political interference, and tax-advantaged.
Professional pension schemes are deliberately not being questioned. They are already capital-based today, self-responsibly organized, and a functioning part of retirement provision. Those who seriously want more capital funding must not weaken or dismantle existing capital-funded systems. Pension schemes must be preserved. They demonstrate that capital-funded retirement provision can work.
The FDP Saar clearly rejects additional compulsory contributions. The currently proposed capital pillar is not contribution-neutral but rather an additional burden for employees and employers. It makes labor more expensive and drives up ancillary wage costs even further. Especially in Saarland, rising ancillary wage costs would severely impact small and medium-sized enterprises, crafts, industry, liberal professions, and social services. Funded pension schemes are correct, but not through new ancillary wage costs.
The FDP Saar calls for a pension reform with clear principles: rapid implementation, more capital funding, less early retirement, reintroduction of the sustainability factor, flexible transitions into retirement, protection in cases of genuine reduced earning capacity, preservation of professional pension schemes, tax-free retirement savings accounts, and no further increase in the cost of labor.
Dr. Helmut Isringhaus, Deputy State Chairman of the FDP Saar, sums it up clearly: "We now need a bold, intergenerational pension reform that is honestly financed and fairly distributes the burdens."
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