Following a recent cabinet decision concerning parental benefits and the stability of the pension system and amid ongoing discussions about extending the working lifetime, senior Social Democratic Party (SPD) official Alexander Schweitzer is emphasizing the need to bolster the pension insurance system through wage income and the creation of socially insured employment.
Speaking to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” network, Schweitzer stated that a primary focus should be on bringing more people into stable employment and ensuring fair wages through collective bargaining agreements. He argued that this approach would strengthen the financial foundation of the pension insurance system. “We must not overlook these central points in favor of populist demands” he added.
The SPD official, who also serves as Minister President of Rhineland-Palatinate, expressed a more cautious stance regarding a proposal by SPD leader Bärbel Bas to include civil servants as contributors to the pension insurance system. Calling it a “discussion contribution that would lead to enormous structural changes” Schweitzer suggested that such a significant shift requires thorough and intensive societal debate.