Germany’s federal government pension commission formally began its work on Wednesday. The body, officially known as the Old-Age Security Commission, will examine the statutory pension system as well as occupational and private retirement provision and present proposals for changes, Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) said in Berlin. According to the ministry, Bas officially appointed the commission’s members earlier in the day. The metalworkers’ union IG Metall warned against the panel becoming a “cutback commission”.
After the government adopted a series of pension policy measures at the end of last year, the commission is now tasked with developing longer-term reform concepts to stabilise the pension system in the face of demographic change. The core challenge is that a shrinking workforce must support a growing number of retirees. The commission is expected to present its findings by mid-2026.
“The pension system is one of the pillars of our social state and central to millions of hardworking people in this country,” Bas said at the commission’s inaugural meeting. She said the goal was to ensure good security in old age and to develop proposals to keep the system stable, fair and sustainable for future generations.
The commission has 13 members. It is co-chaired by former head of the Federal Employment Agency Frank-Jürgen Weise, nominated by the CDU, and social law professor Constanze Janda of the Speyer University of Administrative Sciences, nominated by the SPD. Three vice-chairs come from parliament: Pascal Reddig for the CDU, Annika Klose for the SPD and Florian Dorn for the CSU.
In addition, the commission includes eight academics, four nominated by the conservative bloc and four by the SPD. They include economist and former government adviser Peter Bofinger, Tabea Bucher-Koenen of the ZEW economic institute, economist and former Caritas secretary general Georg Cremer, and economist Camille Logeay of HTW Berlin. Other members are OECD social policy director Monika Queisser, Jörg Rocholl, chair of the finance ministry’s advisory council, economist Silke Übelmesser of the University of Jena, and economic expert Martin Werding.
IG Metall criticised the commission’s mandate. “The signals so far regarding the commission’s task and objectives are sobering: instead of strengthening pensions, savings plans, cuts and debates about a higher retirement age are dominating,” said union board member Hans-Jürgen Urban. He said statutory pensions are the central foundation of old-age security and warned: “We will firmly oppose any attempt to weaken this foundation. The pension commission must not become a cutback commission.”
The governing parties differ on key pension issues. CDU and CSU politicians have called for a later retirement age and fewer options for early retirement, while the SPD is pushing for a broader contribution base, including self-employed people, members of parliament and civil servants.
The government has already decided to secure the pension level at at least 48 percent until 2031, expand benefits for mothers, and introduce incentives for people who continue working beyond the statutory retirement age. However, these measures are expected to place additional financial strain on pension funds, drawing criticism particularly from younger conservative lawmakers.
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