Germany's Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) wants to bring civil servants into the statutory pension insurance system over the long term. Speaking on Monday evening at an event hosted by the newspaper Rheinische Post in Düsseldorf, she said: "We need a common system if we want to have a major reform." She added: "If everyone pays in, we would have more in the pot and the state would not have to contribute as much."
The civil servants' association, by contrast, has dismissed the idea as a set of "populist demands."
"I know that it is a long road," said the minister, who is also the leader of the SPD. Even so, she suggested that the first steps toward bringing civil servants into the scheme could already be taken as part of the pension reform now being planned. "All of the federal states have to take part in this," Bas noted. "That is why you have to talk to the state premiers about it, if that is what you want."
Bas also signaled that she was open in principle to raising the retirement age beyond 67 after 2031. The SPD leader stressed, however, that special arrangements would be needed for those who are unable to work that long. One option, she suggested, could be to tie the retirement age at least in part to the number of years a person has paid into the system.
Sharp criticism of Bas's call to bring civil servants into the pension system came from the German Civil Servants' Association (dbb). Its federal chairman, Volker Geyer, spoke of "populist demands." He argued that "once again, prejudices against civil servants are being deliberately stirred up and supposed injustices are being exploited." Including civil servants in the scheme, he added, would place an enormous strain on public budgets.
The statutory pension system is facing major challenges. A growing number of pensioners are being supported by comparatively fewer people paying contributions, while pensions are also being drawn for longer. For this reason, the federal government wants to overhaul the system from the ground up. The recommendations of a government-appointed commission, which are due to be presented on 29 June, are intended to serve as the basis for that reform.
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