Young people’s concerns are “justified”The head of the Senior Citizens Association cast doubt on the pension package financing model
Young EU members threaten to block black-and-red pension law in the Bundestag. The party’s internal push came from the head of the Senior Citizens Association. But despite criticism of funding, Spahn does not expect any fundamental changes.
In the Union’s internal dispute over pensions, the head of the Senior Union, Hubert Hüppe, showed understanding of the objections of the party’s youth. “The concerns of the younger generation are justified, especially regarding pension financing and demographic changes,” Hüppe told the German editorial network newspaper (RND).
At the annual congress of the Junge Union in Rust, Chancellor Friedrich Merz expressed great dissatisfaction with the federal government’s pension policy. The Chancellor warned the party’s younger generation that they would alienate an important group of voters through “competition to reduce” pension funding. “The focus is not on disputes and certainly not on coalition crises, but rather on finding viable solutions for the future of our social system,” Hüppe said.
The head of the Young Group of Union MPs in the Bundestag, Pascal Redding, confirmed at the JU meeting that the pension stabilization draft that had been approved by the Federal Cabinet “will not receive our approval in this form”. If the United Youth Group in the Bundestag with its 18 members actually blocks the pension law, the black-red coalition will not have a majority in parliament.
Hüppe: Merz does not hesitate to dialogue with the younger generation
The chairman of the Senior Union now told the RND newspaper when asked whether the Youth Group should drop its opposition to the pension package following the Chancellor’s assertion of power: “I would be careful not to make any suggestions to the Youth Union or the Youth Group.”
Hüppe defended Merz’s performance at the JU conference. “The Chancellor doesn’t just chat, but also strives for direct exchange,” he said. “That’s good and shows that he doesn’t shy away from dialogue with the younger generation.” This appearance provides a solid basis for constructive cooperation.
The EU youth justified their rejection by saying that setting pension levels after 2031, as desired by the SPD, would require further costs of around 120 billion euros. Merz questioned this figure in Rust: “This calculation was proven wrong.”
Spahn saw maintaining pension levels as a concession to the SPD
Meanwhile, Union parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn gave some hope to young lawmakers in the Bundestag faction regarding fundamental changes to the federal government’s controversial pension package. The CDU politician said at the German Day at the Junge Union in Rust, south Baden, that he could only offer to continue discussions on the topic. You can’t stop looking at each other to find an acceptable solution.
The agreement on the pension level threshold was a compromise. This issue is as important for the SPD when joining the coalition as changing migration policy is for the Union, Spahn said. This is about a very fundamental issue in pension policy. “That’s why it’s so difficult,” Spahn said.
In the coalition agreement, the black-red coalition agreed to extend the pension rate cap of 48 percent – that is the level of pension protection in relation to wages – until 2031. The pension bill passed by the cabinet and also by Chancellor Merz stipulates that the pension rate should be about one percentage point higher than the current law even after 2031.
