Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government is under intense pressure as a high-level pension commission prepares to present its recommendations this week, with economists and trade unions already dismissing the draft proposals as insufficient and out of touch with reality.
The Rentenkommission is expected to suggest gradually raising the retirement age to 68, lowering the pension replacement rate from 2031, and scrapping the popular penalty-free early retirement option after 45 contribution years (the so-called Rente mit 63).
Other ideas reportedly include bringing more groups such as MPs, self-employed workers, and company executives into the statutory pension system and introducing a capital-funded component alongside the existing pay-as-you-go model.
