In the debate about the future of pensions, “economic wise” Veronika Grimm advocates automatically raising the retirement age as life expectancy increases. “The standard retirement age should be linked to life expectancy,” she told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “The formula for the future could be: If life expectancy increases by one year, two-thirds of the additional year would go to gainful employment and one-third to retirement.” There should be exceptions in the case of health impairments, according to the member of the Advisory Council for the Assessment of Overall Economic Development.
With a view to the shortage of skilled workers, Grimm also demanded that the “trend towards early retirement” should not continue. “We have to ensure that people want and are able to work longer, so that the actual retirement age is increasing.” According to the current legal situation, the age limit will be gradually raised from 65 to 67 years without pension deductions. For those born in 1964 or later, the standard retirement age is 67 years.
The traffic light coalition has so far ruled out a further increase. “I am firmly convinced that we no longer need to keep raising the retirement age,” said Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Thursday at a public dialogue in Erfurt. “Anyone who leaves school at the age of 17 has five decades of work ahead of them. I think that’s enough.” If someone wants to work longer, he should be able to do so – “but not because he has to, but because he or she can”.
Baden-Württemberg’s Finance Minister Danyal Bayaz (Greens) recently warned that regular retirement at the age of 67 would not be sustainable if prosperity remained the same. In many professions, he increasingly considers working longer hours to be reasonable.