On Labor Day in Berlin, there was clear criticism of the proposed pension package. Company president Dulger called for this to stop and a higher retirement age to be given instead.
11/25/2025 | 1:41 min
“You don’t burden the contributors with this” – it was this sentence that made Bärbel Bas (SPD) make its audience laugh involuntarily. The Labor Secretary previously used his Labor Day speech to defend the pension package and its financing through tax revenues. The laughter of the employers caught Bas off guard.
This may sound funny to you, but we should… That’s not… that’s not funny at all.
Bärbel Bas (SPD), Minister of Labour
At the same time, the SPD chairman is open to long-term reform of the pension system, and an expert commission is expected to put forward proposals next year. “We definitely need reform after 2031,” said Bas.
Chancellor Merz asked for approval
The Minister received support from the Federal Chancellor: Friedrich Merz also once again requested approval for the pension package that had already been approved by the Federal Cabinet. On Entrepreneurs’ Day, he rejected accusations from young Union MPs that Bas’ bill went beyond what was agreed in the coalition agreement.
“We in the cabinet endorsed nothing more and nothing less than what was agreed in the coalition agreement,” said the Chancellor. “I don’t like playing around with pension provisions based on the motto: who offers less,” he added.
Source: AFP, dpa, ZDF
