The co-leader of the German Green Party, Franziska Brantner, has publicly questioned the continued viability of the scheme allowing retirement at age 63 after 45 years of contributions, often referred to as “Rente mit 63.
In a statement to the “Handelsblatt” newspaper, Brantner suggested a review of the program to ascertain whether it continues to primarily benefit the originally intended demographic. The scheme was initially designed to support individuals in physically and psychologically demanding professions. However, Brantner indicated it is increasingly utilized for purposes beyond its original scope, such as facilitating corporate restructuring – a function she believes falls outside the purview of state responsibility. This position represents a shift from the Green Party’s 2025 federal election platform, which advocated maintaining the existing scheme.
Despite this re-evaluation, Brantner remains opposed to raising the general retirement age. She argues that simply abolishing early retirement would be insufficient to stabilize the German pension system.
To address long-term financial sustainability, Brantner proposed the creation of a “citizen fund” – a capital-backed pillar for retirement provision. This fund would be seeded with public funds to stimulate investment in capital markets or direct investment in companies. The fund, she explained, would also be open to private contributions as an alternative to existing Riester pension schemes, allowing participation from not only those covered by statutory pensions, but also civil servants, the self-employed and members of parliament. A mandatory “citizen insurance” scheme, however, is not currently considered a viable solution by Brantner.