Elisabeth Kaiser (SPD), the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany, has warned that the planned pension reform poses a particular risk of poverty among the elderly in eastern Germany. “There must be no reduction in the current pension level for people in eastern Germany starting in 2031,” Kaiser told the *Leipziger Volkszeitung* and the *Sächsische Zeitung* (Tuesday edition). Otherwise, many people would face the threat of poverty in old age. “For most East Germans, the statutory pension is their sole means of support in old age.”
Saxony’s Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (CDU) is also urging that the specific needs of East Germans be taken into account. “Anyone discussing the future of our pensions must take the life achievements of people in eastern Germany seriously,” Kretschmer told the two newspapers. Many, he said, had coped with enormous changes after reunification, lost their businesses, learned new trades, and helped rebuild the country.
The statutory retirement age will rise to 67 by 2031. According to the commission’s recommendations, it should then increase by half a year every decade thereafter. In addition to linking the retirement age to general life expectancy, the plan also calls for, among other things, the abolition of the “retirement at 63” option.
