“Work until you die”
SPD, FDP and Left are tearing up CDU active pensions
September 30, 2023, 6:35 a.m
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No party likes to approach the pension. However, the CDU is now presenting a concept, the so-called active pension. This is met with rejection by the political competition, for various reasons. What unites everyone, however, is the accusation of injustice.
The SPD, FDP and the Left have criticized the CDU’s proposal for tax-free income for pensioners. Left-wing parliamentary group leader Dietmar Bartsch told the “Tagesspiegel” that anyone who wanted to work in retirement should do so. “The CDU concept of active pensions should also serve to get people used to the hardships that lead to death.” There is “a right to retirement”.
The CDU had proposed allowing older people to continue working tax-free in their pension up to a limit of 2,000 euros per month. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann supported the idea for a corresponding “active pension” with the presentation of a legal opinion. The CDU is ready to implement the proposal immediately. According to Linnemann, this is primarily intended to address the increasing shortage of skilled workers.
The FDP labor market politician Carl-Julius Cronenberg also expressed his opposition in the “Tagesspiegel”. Incentives to employ full retirees are sensible, he said. However, it is not clear why Linnemann is “proposing an instrument that will never be available to millions of employees, for example craftsmen, and which further complicates the already complicated tax law.”
SPD: Professors and lawyers benefit
The SPD in the Bundestag rejected the CDU model as unfair. “The proposal favors professors and lawyers and disadvantages those who have worked hard physically for decades, such as roofers or nurses,” said deputy SPD parliamentary group leader Dagmar Schmidt to the newspaper. SPD financial expert Michael Schrodi had also already criticized the fact that such employees would be disadvantaged twice: “through deductions due to earlier retirement and because those who are able to work would be given preference through the tax exemption,” he said.
Already today, people who reach regular retirement age do not automatically have to retire. You can earn unlimited amounts. Anyone who continues to work receives an additional 0.5 percent on their pension every month. But if the basic allowance of 10,908 euros per year is exceeded due to pension and additional income, taxes are due.