In the ongoing debate about the pension system, economist Veronika Grimm has proposed that teachers and professors should no longer be appointed as civil servants. “There is a debate about whether the higher pension benefits are justified. In some professions, this could be questioned for the future. For example, one could consider not appointing teachers and professors as civil servants” Grimm told the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday edition).
Grimm also criticized the plan by Federal Social Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) to include civil servants in the statutory pension insurance. “Integrating civil servants and self-employed individuals into the statutory pension insurance is an extremely complex process, but does not solve any of the problems. If one does not want to reduce the salaries or pensions of civil servants, there will be contributions, but they will also meet certain benefit claims. It is therefore a zero-sum game” she explained.
Instead, Grimm believes that the government should be transparent about the situation: “What is needed are effective reforms: linking the pension entry age to further life expectancy, damping the increase of existing pensions and reintroducing the sustainability factor. These reform approaches would significantly increase the sustainability of the statutory pension insurance. Additionally, there should be a strengthening of capital-based protection” she added.