Berlin. The chairman of the Young Union (JU), Johannes Winkel (CDU), is pushing for annual pension expenditures to be cut by more than €50 billion as part of a comprehensive pension reform. Future pension increases should be tied to inflation rather than wage growth, Winkel told Bild in its Monday edition.
Germany's Young Union pushes radical pension reforms to cut €50B in costs
"The IMF has calculated that switching to inflation-based pension adjustments could save up to €45 billion per year," Winkel stated. "This is a step we must take." He also called for the abolition of the early retirement option at 63, which costs around €13 billion annually.
The JU leader urged the SPD to abandon its resistance to sweeping pension reforms. "We urgently need to prepare for demographic change. The SPD, in particular, is acting as if it doesn't even exist—that's completely out of touch with reality," Winkel said.
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