CDU and SPD Clash Over Mandatory Pension for the Self-Employed

At the same time, sharp criticism of the party's own leadership came from within the CDU. CDU Bundestag member Johannes Winkel told the "Tagesspiegel" (online and Sunday edition): "Bei allem Verständnis für Wahlkampf- und Parteiprofilierung: Bitte bleibt verantwortungsvoll und seriös. Mit der Zukunft und der erzielten Renteneinigung sollte man nicht so leichtfertig spielen." Winkel is considered a representative of the economic wing and serves in the Bundestag in Berlin.

Reactions from the CDU

The federal government's pension commission had previously presented a compromise that provides for the gradual inclusion of self-employed persons, who are not yet mandatorily insured, into the statutory pension insurance. The goal is to reduce old-age poverty in this growing occupational group. At the same time, transitional arrangements and hardship mechanisms are intended to protect start-up founders.

Which income thresholds and contribution models will apply specifically is still open. The coalition partners CDU and SPD are currently negotiating the details of a reform that, according to the federal government's wishes, is to come into force during this legislative term. Business associations and founder organizations had warned in statements about additional burdens in the start-up phase.

Burden for Female and Male Founders

Founder coach Isabella Wichmann demonstrated in a comparison that self-employed persons with a monthly turnover of 4,000 euros are left with only a few hundred euros at their free disposal after deducting VAT, operating expenses, health insurance, tax provisions, and living expenses. This calculation example was picked up by several media outlets and is being used in the political debate as an argument against too rapid an introduction of mandatory membership.

The CDU leadership level is meanwhile trying to calm the waters within the party. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and other leading CDU politicians aligned themselves behind the pension commission's agreement. However, critical voices continue to come from the eastern German state associations, including Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, pointing to the region's particular economic structure.

Mario Voigt, Minister President of Thuringia, had previously raised concerns like Kretschmer and called for regionally differentiated consideration. Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, on the other hand, pointed to the core social policy aspect of the reform: Solo self-employed persons and founders in particular are often inadequately insured in old age and dependent on basic welfare support.

Outlook on Further Negotiations

The next steps are to follow in the coming weeks. First, a top-level meeting between the CDU and SPD parliamentary group leaders is planned; afterwards, the pension commission intends to present a revised draft. Observers expect the final version to contain transitional deadlines and a hardship clause to cushion resistance from the party's own ranks.

At the same time, it remains unclear what consequences the publicly conducted dispute will have for the cohesion of the coalition. The SPD had recently emphasized several times that it expects a unified stance from the CDU on the pension agreement. If the Union allows dissenters in the parliamentary vote, the reform could only secure a majority with votes from the opposition — a scenario that both governing parties have so far ruled out.

What is certain is that the mandatory pension for the self-employed will remain the defining social policy issue of late summer. According to the pension commission's estimates, the planned reform affects several hundred thousand persons in gainful employment in Germany who are not yet mandatorily insured.