Opposition politicians have criticized Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s appeal to young people to start saving early for retirement.
In a Monday edition of the “Rheinische Post”, Green deputy Fraktion spokesperson Andreas Audretsch said: “Private pension can be a sensible supplement, but it requires fundamental reforms”. He added that “fifty euros a month is a lot for many people; Merz’s call to save would be more credible if he ensured that the money actually goes into pensions”.
At the CDU campaign launch in Ravensburg, Merz explained, “We must make sure people start saving for their retirement early enough”. He further told listeners that starting with 50 euros a month would yield a six‑figure pension when they retire at 65 or 68.
Sarah Vollath, the pension‑policy spokesperson for the Left, sharply criticized the Chancellor: “Every week he shows, again, that he has no connection to the everyday reality of young people”. She noted that for many, especially in their youth, “50 euros is truly a lot of money; many cannot afford more than a week’s food on that amount”.
Ulrike Schielke‑Ziesing, the pension‑policy spokesperson for the AfD faction, replied that Merz’s approach “preempts the challenge of making the pension insurance system future‑proof”. She added, “It is not only that: the call to confront the pay‑as‑you‑go financing is also a vote of no confidence in the country’s own economic and labor‑market policy”.