Bert Rürup: Die sich abzeichnende Schieflage der Rentenversicherung ist Ergebnis bewusster Entscheidungen
Hinter rentenpolitischen Maßnahmen stecken häufig kurzfristige, klientelspezifische Erwägungen. Damit wirken sie oft wie prozyklische Konjunkturpolitik. Das ist ein Fehler.
Creating a sustainable pension system necessitates a long-term perspective, as changes in the ratio of contributors to pensioners unfold gradually over time. Therefore, there remains ample time to fine-tune the funding mechanisms of the pay-as-you-go system, including addressing the current challenges stemming from an aging population.
The need for this foresight was highlighted even in the first "Familienbericht" (Family Report) of the Federal Government in 1968, which acknowledged the sharp decline in births starting in 1965 as a new trend. Warnings had been issued about the aging population, reduced birth rates, future burdens on social insurance, and a shortage of skilled workers – insights that have remained consistent over the past six decades.
Norbert Blüm (CDU) was the first Social Minister to react to this demographic shift with reforms in the late 1980s, known colloquially as "benefit withdrawals". This approach was continued with further cuts and the gradual increase of the retirement age to 67 years in the 2000s. The result was that by the early 2010s, the pension system was well-equipped to handle the demographic pressure from the mid-2020s to early 2040s.
Written by urgent.news from Handelsblatt's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
