Austria as a Model
Germany's Left Party Demands Employers Pay More for Pension Costs
From the left's perspective, employers should contribute more to pension insurance than employees. A position paper argues that the employer share should be gradually increased from the current 50 percent to 60 percent of the total pension contribution. The Left Party concludes from a legal opinion by the German Bundestag's Research Service that such a measure would be legally permissible.
Currently, employers and employees each cover half of the contribution rate, which stands at 18.6 percent of gross wages. To achieve an adequate pension level, however, employees are expected to supplement their savings with private provisions—a burden the Left Party considers unfairly one-sided.
"Working a Lifetime Away"
"For years, employees have borne the brunt of their own retirement planning," said party leader Ines Schwerdtner. "They toil their whole lives, are told to save privately, and in the end, their pension is barely enough to live on." Addressing employers, she added: "Those who profit from their workers' labor must also contribute fairly to their social security."
The Research Service's legal opinion cites examples where contributions to certain social insurance schemes are not split equally between employers and employees. In Saxony, for instance, employees pay more into long-term care insurance than employers. For years, employees alone covered the additional health insurance surcharge, which has since been divided equally again.
Austria as a Blueprint
The Left Party draws particular inspiration from Austria's pension system. While statutory pensions there are higher, the contribution rate is also steeper at 22.8 percent—and it is not split evenly. Employers cover 12.55 percentage points, while employees contribute 10.25 percent.
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