German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil of the SPD said on Wednesday during a policy speech at the Bertelsmann Foundation that future pensions will be based much more closely on the number of contribution years. He added that the state should no longer encourage early retirement; instead, workers should be encouraged to remain in the workforce longer.
Klingbeil emphasized that society as a whole will need to work more. He pointed out several obstacles: high part‑time participation, incentives that push people into early exit from the labour market, and transfer systems that sometimes even undermine the value of extra work. “I want to create a system in which a willingness to work is rewarded” he said.
He also pledged a reform of the income tax that would relieve roughly 95 % of employees, amounting to “a few hundred euros a year”. At the same time, he stressed that high incomes and large fortunes would need to “make a contribution”.