Labor Minister Bärbel Bas has announced a comprehensive pension reform for the coming year and plans to establish a commission in December. She emphasizes the need to involve young politicians to find a solution for all generations. Reforms in Sweden, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Austria serve as models.
Bärbel Bas, labor minister and SPD co-chair, spoke in ARD about the urgency of a fundamental pension reform. "It won't suffice to tweak just two screws; we need a completely new system," she stated. The reform should be bold and implemented by major parties.
The planned pension commission is to be established in December 2025. Bas highlighted topics such as retirement age, expanding contributors, and incomes as discussion points. "It's about the retirement entry age, about broadening who should contribute. It's about incomes," she said.
Bas particularly emphasized involving young people. Following the recent passage of the first pension package with a chancellor majority, it is understandable that the young generation demands input. She expects representatives from the Young Group of the Union as well as young SPD politicians in the commission. A structural reform must serve all generations, including retirees and those nearing retirement.
The context is the opposition from some young Union parliamentarians to the bill fixing the pension level at 48 percent of average wages until 2031. They doubt a fundamental reform in 2026 with the SPD. Bas called for unity: All government parties must move toward each other and clarify conflicts earlier to learn from past disputes.