Peer Steinbrück: "I find this pension reform a scandal" - Pension Reform in Jeopardy as CSU, SPD Promises Spark Veto Threat
The 2026 draft budget allocates a record 127.8 billion euros to the pension fund, making it the largest single budget item. This substantial subsidy has sparked controversy, with CSU pushing for an expansion of the mother's pension and SPD promising to stabilize the pension level. Meanwhile, 18 young CDU/CSU lawmakers threaten to veto the proposal, potentially toppling the coalition's majority.
CSU's demand to expand the mother's pension, retroactively recognizing child-rearing periods for children born before 1992, is estimated to cost five billion euros annually. This, along with SPD's pledge to stabilize the pension level at 48 percent, making the sustainability factor ineffective, has drawn criticism from former Federal Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück. He opposes the mother's pension expansion, arguing it has a 'perverse effect' and misses its mark. Steinbrück also slammed the current government's pension reform as 'a scandal', misaligned with intergenerational equity and a mistake to suspend the sustainability factor.
The pension package includes costly campaign promises from both coalition partners, to be funded by tax revenues, not pension contributions. Young CDU/CSU lawmakers object to the plan to stabilize the pension level, citing long-term costs estimated at a minimum of 114 billion euros between 2032 and 2040.
The pension reform proposal faces significant opposition, with CSU's expansion of the mother's pension and SPD's stabilization of the pension level both drawing criticism. The potential veto from young CDU/CSU lawmakers further complicates the situation, threatening the coalition's majority. The future of the pension reform remains uncertain, with the government facing a challenge to balance the needs of current and future pensioners.
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