The Greens and the Left Party have sharply criticized Federal Economics Minister Katherina Reiche's (CDU) call for an increased retirement age The retirement age is already gradually rising to 67 by 2031, Green Party deputy parliamentary group leader Andreas Audretsch emphasized on Monday to the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "The fact that Ms. Reiche simply ignores this shows that she is not oriented towards the reality in the country, but is instead spouting ideological rhetoric."
Especially for many physically hard workers, "retirement at 67 is already difficult to achieve," Audretsch said. He called on the federal government to encourage prolonged employment period on a voluntary basis and through more incentives, such as age-appropriate working time models and financial incentives. Furthermore, women must be enabled to work more, for example, through expanded childcare.
Reiche told Saturday's Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that retirement age must be extended. Demographic change and rising life expectancy made this “inevitable.” It could “certainly not work in the long run that we only work for two-thirds of our adult lives and spend one-third in retirement.”
The reforms outlined in the coalition agreement will not be enough in the long run, Reiche added. The minister also referred to international comparisons: companies reported to her that their employees in the US worked 1,800 hours per year, but only 1,340 hours in Germany. Reiche has already been criticized for her statements by her coalition partner, the SPD.
Left Party leader Ines Schwerdtner also criticized Reiche's statements. Schwerdtner told the RND that the minister was "seamlessly participating in the employers' campaign against the welfare state." She accused Reiche of taking sides with the business community. "When corporate lobbyists are in government, the result is one-sided policies." This, she said, is not in the interest of the majority.
"After 40 years of work, everyone should receive a poverty-proof pension and not be forced to continue working," Schwerdtner added. Labor in Germany is competitive because productivity is high and continues to rise, but also "because everyone – corporations and the population – can rely on a functioning infrastructure and a social safety net," said the Left Party leader.
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