The General Secretary of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), Carsten Linnemann, is advocating for the implementation of a program allowing citizens to continue working beyond their standard retirement age, with a targeted start date of January 2026 Linnemann stated his commitment to launching this “Active Retirement” initiative, as previously discussed among coalition partners
The proposed scheme would enable individuals who voluntarily choose to work past retirement age to earn up to €2,000 per month tax-free, supplementing their existing pension The project was reaffirmed during recent consultations between leadership from the CDU/CSU and the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Würzburg, though a specific launch date had not been confirmed at that time
A core aim of the initiative is to better incentivize and reward those who wish to continue working, either for longer periods or increased hours According to a policy paper from the Würzburg meeting, the goal is to ensure “those who voluntarily want to work more, have more net income from their gross earnings” The proposal also includes a plan to make overtime pay, exceeding standard full-time hours, immediately tax-exempt
Linnemann expressed confidence in the program’s success, highlighting its potential benefits for both individuals, through increased financial rewards for continued work and for society as a whole, by retaining valuable skills and experience within the workforce
However, consensus within the governing coalition remains elusive regarding a separate proposal from Economics Minister Katherina Reiche to generally raise the statutory retirement age in response to demographic shifts The proposal has not garnered sufficient support to become policy