German Bundestag begins parliamentary path to suspend 2026 MP pay rise

After the first reading, the bill was referred to the lead committee for the examination of elections, immunity and the rules of procedure. The authors of the bill consider it the 'right signal' that MPs' remuneration is not increased this year as an exception, given the burdens on citizens in challenging times. According to the Deutsche Presse-Agentur, the planned suspension is intended to send a savings signal to the population during economically difficult times. The bill cites the 'generally and additionally challenging economic and tense budgetary situation due to the war in Iran' as a special situation justifying the deviation, and adds that 'in special situations deviations may be necessary to ensure the appropriateness of MPs' remuneration.'

Opposition goes further than the coalition

The level of the monthly remuneration of Bundestag members is aligned with the salary of a judge at a federal supreme court (pay grade R 6). Government factions said it is a 'Gebot der Glaubwürdigkeit' (imperative of credibility) and responsibility that parliamentarians make an additional contribution to necessary savings, and that in the tense budgetary and economic situation, structural reforms are necessary that also involve burdens for citizens. Speaking for the Greens, the party's legal policy spokesperson Helge Limburg described the suspension as a 'right sign in these difficult times' during the debate.

The AfD and the Left party are going further than the coalition, calling for a permanent and not just one-time waiver of the regular annual adjustment of parliamentary pay, because they consider it already high enough. Stephan Brandner, parliamentary floor leader (Fraktionsgeschäftsführer) of the AfD, said that citizens would have no understanding for a pay increase. The Greens, AfD and Left party in the Bundestag also consider a pay increase inappropriate in the current situation, and their support means the bill is expected to pass with a comfortable majority. The vote on the draft bill is expected to take place in the week after next.

How the freeze would work in practice

Mechanically, the draft provides for the increase to be paid out in July as scheduled, bringing the monthly payment to 12,330.48 euros, but for the additional 497.01 euros to be deducted in August. As a result, the August payment would be 11,336.46 euros. From September onwards, the current amount of 11,833.47 euros is to apply again. The same procedure is to apply to the fictitious assessment amounts for old-age pensions under paragraphs 35a and 35b of the Abgeordnetengesetz. For claims and entitlements of members, former members and their surviving dependents arising up to 31 December 2007, the fictitious assessment amount is to rise in July by 4.2 percent from 11,321.39 euros to 11,796.89 euros, fall to 10,845.89 euros in August and return to 11,321.39 euros from September.

For the smaller group of members who belonged to the Bundestag on 22 December 1995, former members and their surviving dependents, the fictitious assessment amount is to increase in July by 4.2 percent from 10,117.47 euros to 10,542.40 euros, fall to 9,692.54 euros in August and return to 10,117.47 euros from September. For both groups of old-age pension assessment amounts, the regular adjustment is to be carried out again on 1 July 2027. The next regular adjustment of MPs' salaries is to take place on 1 July 2027, based on 11,833.47 euros.

The 2014 reform and its political backdrop

The bill does not touch the underlying index-based system. Since 2014, Bundestag members' salaries have been linked to the nominal wage index and adjusted accordingly, and the automatic mechanism was introduced precisely to spare the chamber from having to decide annually on the amount of parliamentary compensation. Before that reform, annual decisions on parliamentary pay were regularly accompanied by heated debates including accusations of self-enrichment. The current draft law provides for a one-time deviation only, leaving the index-linked adjustment in place for 2027 and beyond. Each newly elected Bundestag must vote on whether to retain the index-based adjustment procedure for the legislative term, and if it is not adopted, compensation remains at the same level for the legislative term.

The government factions frame the move as a one-off gesture of solidarity. The opposition, while supporting the suspension, argues that the level of parliamentary pay is already high enough that the index link should be reconsidered altogether. Both positions, however, point in the same direction for 2026: members of the Bundestag will not see the almost 500-euro monthly increase that the wage index would otherwise have produced.

The German Bundestag's agenda for Thursday included the first reading of the bill, and the first reading took place, indicating the legislative process is underway. With broad cross-faction support for the suspension, attention now turns to the deliberations in the lead committee and to the final vote, expected in the week after next.