Pension package II should actually be approved in the cabinet tomorrow. But according to information from… ARD capital studios Finance Minister Lindner had the topic taken off the agenda without further ado.
The mood behind the scenes is tense. The so-called pension package II was actually supposed to be passed in the cabinet tomorrow – at least that was what earlier planning envisaged. Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP), Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) and Economics Minister Robert Habeck (Greens) had agreed on this pension reform months ago. Heil and Lindner recently presented the first details of Pension Package II at a press conference.
But according to information from… ARD capital studios Lindner has now ensured that the project is not on the cabinet’s agenda on Wednesday. This causes great surprise in the coalition – and thus also in the Chancellery.
Pension and other conflict issues
The consensus behind the scenes is that a lot has actually already been agreed. The generational capital that the FDP had called for was a done deal. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), Lindner and Habeck have now discussed the matter in the Chancellery. It was probably not just about pensions, but also about other conflict issues. This meeting had been planned for a long time between the three in order to also talk about the 2025 budget.
The finance minister has seemed annoyed for days that a majority of ministries have not adhered to his guidelines in their budget drafts for 2025. Just yesterday at the Stability Council’s press conference, Lindner burst out: “There are individual departments that have submitted exorbitant wish lists. Christmas, Easter and birthdays together, so to speak.”
This meant the budget requests from the Foreign Office and also the Ministry of Development. The high costs for the welfare state, and thus Labor Minister Heil’s budget, have long been a thorn in the finance minister’s side.
Looking ahead to the next pension reform
At the FDP party conference, Lindner already made it clear that his next steps would also be linked to other issues, such as the budget, but also to the FDP’s economic concept. “We have presented a pension package II,” said Lindner in an interview with the ARD. This includes the SPD’s 48 percent promise and, on the other hand, the first introduction of generation capital, i.e. a stock pension, a funded support for the pension system. “But when I presented Pension Package II, I said we needed a Pension Package III,” said Lindner.
The need for pension insurance reform has not been completed. “By the way, Mr. Heil also says that his idea is to raise the contribution assessment limit, for example,” says Lindner. Then people would have to pay more. “Our idea is: We have to provide incentives so that people can and want to work longer. And this pension package III does not yet exist.”
According to a spokesman for the Ministry of Finance, the cabinet decision on pension package II is still planned for May. “Due to the high number of registrations for the 2025 budget, current projects must be reclassified into the overall context,” explained the spokesman. Discussions within the government would be held to this end.