Sozialversicherung: Rentenreform: 46 Top-Ökonomen richten klare Warnung an die Bundesregierung

Forty-six prominent economists have issued a clear warning to the German government regarding the planned pension reform package. The experts insist that the entire package must be implemented as a whole, as it is the only way to achieve the desired effect. The warning comes just before a cabinet meeting, as the government has been criticized for potentially abandoning the hard-fought compromise after nearly a decade without reform.

The Federal Expert Commission had previously proposed 33 measures to make the pension system more sustainable, considering the demographic challenges. The coalition government had initially agreed to implement the package as a whole, with Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas emphasizing the importance of the "Gesamtkunstwerk" (complete work of art).

However, recent elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berlin, where the CDU and SPD largely underperformed, have led some prominent figures to question the compromise. Specifically, the CDU has criticized the proposal to eliminate the "abschlagsfreie Frühverrentung" (tax-free early retirement after 45 years) and the SPD now advocates for comprehensive transition periods and exemptions instead of abolishing the "Rente mit 63" (retirement at 63).

The economists warn that negotiating individual components of the reform would weaken the overall concept, leaving unresolved issues for future generations.