Rentenreform: Wie geht es weiter mit der abschlagsfreien Frührente?

The debate surrounding the "Rente mit 63" - a pension that can be claimed at the age of 63 without deducting previous contributions - has become a contentious issue in German politics. The proposed abolition of this abschlagsfreie Frührente, which requires 45 years of contributions, has sparked discussions on its future.

Bundesarbeitsministerin Bärbel Bas (SPD) has called for these recommendations to be reevaluated as part of a comprehensive reform package. She has urged the Union to clarify its stance on the abolition of the scruple-free pension. While Bas does not rule out the possibility of including the package in a reform package, she has not yet decided on it.

The CDU's state premiers from the eastern states are now facing a decision from the CDU/Bundestag coalition about whether they wish to retain the scruple-free early retirement. Bas assures that the SPD will likely not oppose this decision, as they introduced this system and consistently argued for supporting individuals who have significantly contributed to the system and started working early.

The CDU, on the other hand, has always aimed to abolish the scruple-free pension. The SPD, in contrast, has upheld the system, claiming that those who have paid in a long time and started working early should also have the option to retire early.

Ostdeutsche CDU Ministerpräsidenten Michael Kretschmer (Sachsen), Sven Schulze (Sachsen-Anhalt) and Mario Voigt (Thüringen) have openly opposed the commission's recommendation. In a letter to the federal government, they defended the scruple-free pension, stating that those who have paid in for 45 years have already contributed enough and that this principle will not be abandoned.

Union Fraktionschef Thorsten Frei and the new Generalsekretärin Franziska Hoppermann have made it clear that the CDU supports the abolition of the scruple-free pension as part of a balanced reform package. Hoppermann emphasized that the reform should be viewed as an integrated whole, and removing individual points could jeopardize the compromise.

Bas acknowledged that the results of the Rentenkommission (retirement commission) were not an ideal outcome for the SPD, but argued that the package as a whole is coherent. The federal government had declared its intention to fully implement all recommendations from the commission, but no draft laws implementing these reforms have been presented yet.

Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (CDU) and Bas had stated at the commission's introduction in June that they intend to fully implement all recommendations, with the aim of completing the legislation by the end of the year. However, CDU politician Pascal Reddig wrote on X platform: "As a Rentenkommission, we proposed a comprehensive concept.

I would like to see us have the courage to implement it, rather than blocking it out of fear of elections. Anyone who pulls out individual building blocks now must know that they will bring the entire house down."

The report by the expert commission highlighted that the scruple-free early pension primarily benefited high earners, healthier individuals, and men. Low earners, those with unstable employment histories, and women were less likely to benefit from it. The report stated that scruple-free early retirement effectively leads to higher pensions at the expense of the insured community.

Abolishing the scruple-free early pension could provide long-term relief to the state pension insurance system. If all insured individuals delayed their retirement by one year, it would result in savings of approximately 6.5 billion euros per pension accrual year. Additionally, additional contributions could be expected as at least some of the affected individuals would choose to postpone retirement, thus remaining in the labor market longer.