Reiche Defends Pension Plans Against Leaders of Eastern German States

Federal Minister of Economics Katherina Reiche (CDU) opposes calls from three CDU state premiers in eastern Germany to retain the controversial early retirement option without reductions. “Deliberately sending employees into early retirement programs—and having the government support that—is not a good idea,” Reiche said in response to a question on the matter following a company visit in Zielitz, Saxony-Anhalt. “Overall, we need people to work longer throughout their lives in order to become competitive again.”

Among other things, the government’s Pension Commission had recommended abolishing the option of retiring without pension reductions for individuals with particularly long insurance histories—specifically, those with 45 or more years of insurance coverage—who previously could retire at age 63 but now must wait until age 64.5. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) intend to enact the commission’s proposals into law without any compromises before the end of this year, as they had announced.

Eastern German State Premiers Oppose Ending Retirement After 45 Years

However, the CDU state premiers of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia oppose abolishing retirement after 45 years. “It’s especially important in the East: Anyone who has paid into the system for 45 years must be able to retire without any reductions,” said Thuringia’s Minister President Mario Voigt on the sidelines of a joint meeting in Braunsbedra (Saxony-Anhalt). Michael Kretschmer of Saxony also emphasized, speaking on behalf of his counterpart Sven Schulze of Saxony-Anhalt—who is currently campaigning for re-election—“That is our shared position.” 

Reiche “Definitely” Opposed to Rolling Back Pension Reform

When asked about her position on this criticism, Reiche said she was satisfied with the pension commission’s findings. “Are they enough to achieve sustainable growth? No. But shouldn’t we start phasing out certain sectors and addressing problem areas? Definitely not,” said Reiche. While there are jobs, for example, in underground mining, she noted after visiting a potash mine. In such cases, companies have an interest in retaining their employees for as long as possible—but only for as long as possible. However, there are also many other ways of life.