Andreas Audretsch, the deputy chair of the Green parliamentary group, accused Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) of wanting to weaken Germany’s statutory pension system.
He told RTL and ntv: “If the pension level is questioned again, that is, again a political decision, it will inevitably leave women poorly protected in old age. That must not happen. A fall in the pension level means ageing poverty in Germany – that cannot be a solution”.
Merz had announced at a recent event that private and occupational pension schemes should in the future play a far larger role than they do today, with both being fully capitalised.
Audretsch said the statutory pension insurance must remain the core of the system, but he also called for fundamental reforms. “For example, everyone should contribute. The fact that members of parliament still do not contribute is a serious problem. We need far more fairness”.
To improve private pensions, the Greens propose a public citizen fund based on the Swedish model. “People who do not want to participate can opt out and secure themselves privately, but that would be an alternative to the failure of the Riester pension scheme” he explained. There is no longer public trust in the Riester pension, and people simply stopped paying in. “We need a completely new start for private pensions”.
“A public fund with minimal administration fees, reliability, and state backing that delivers good returns can be introduced. That would, in one major step, bring the capital‑based pillar up to standard” Audretsch said. Until now, the Union has put forward “no substantial proposal” for reforming the capital‑based pension system.