Seven German minister-presidents reject scrapping of early retirement after 45 years of contributions

In Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, minister-president Manuela Schwesig (SPD) defends maintaining the current regime, as does her Brandenburg counterpart, Dietmar Woidke (SPD). Among the Union state leaders, Michael Kretschmer (CDU/Saxony), Mario Voigt (CDU/Thuringia), and Sven Schulze (CDU/Saxony-Anhalt) have also joined the protest. The five eastern states share an aging demographic structure and a high dependence on early retirement, which largely explains the cohesion of their position.

The debate is taking place within the framework of the Pension Commission's work, which is considering scrapping early retirement as part of efforts to stabilize the public pension system in the face of population aging. The possible elimination of the possibility of accessing the full pension at 63 would mean a tightening of retirement conditions for workers with long contribution careers, who until now can retire without a reduction in the amount.

The role of the Pension Commission

Several state leaders have made their dissatisfaction public in recent months, citing both the effect on the regional economy and the social consequences for workers in sectors with high physical demands. The demand coincides with the concern expressed by unions and business organizations, as well as by various municipalities in the east, which fear an early exit from the labor market and a worsening of the labor shortage.

The situation places the federal government and the Pension Commission before the need to negotiate with the Länder to reach a consensus. Seven minister-presidents against represent a blocking minority, but enough to hinder the approval of any reform that requires the agreement of the states in the Bundesrat. The political officials consulted by the German press agree that the issue has become one of the main fronts of the summer social agenda.

Institutional impact in the Bundesrat

The pension reform is listed as a priority in the federal Executive's political calendar, which is confident of presenting before the end of the year a proposal that curbs the increase in pension spending. In parallel, voices from the SPD and the CDU have called for formulas that combine incentives to extend working life with protection measures for older workers, a balance that, according to analysts, will be decisive for the success of any agreement.

If the alliance of the seven state leaders is confirmed, the pressure on those responsible for the Pension Commission will increase in the coming weeks. Some western Länder, although they have not yet formally spoken out, are studying joining the eastern bloc, which could broaden the opposition and force the search for consensuses with new fiscal commitments or longer transition periods. The outcome of the standoff seems key to territorial cohesion and to the credibility of the reform.

The discussion is taking place in a context of growing alarm about the sustainability of the German pension system. The federal government insists that without reforms the current commitments would be financially unaffordable as of the next decade, while from the Länder and the unions it is warned that any change must be accompanied by measures to generate employment and maintain the quality of employment for those over 60 years of age.