Germany currently allows workers with at least 45 years of pension contributions to retire without deductions before reaching the standard retirement age. Although the scheme was originally available from age 63, the eligibility age is gradually increasing and is currently around 64½ years, with the final target set at 65.
Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) is currently preparing legislation that would implement the recommendations of the pension reform commission. Whether the controversial early retirement option remains part of Germany’s pension system is likely to become one of the central political battles of the reform process.
A growing dispute over Germany’s pension reform plans has exposed divisions within the governing coalition. Several eastern German state premiers have spoken out against proposals to abolish the early retirement option without pension deductions for workers with 45 years of contributions, reigniting a heated national debate.
SPD Secretary General Tim Klüssendorf stressed that eliminating the benefit has long been a demand of the conservative CDU/CSU bloc, not the Social Democrats. Speaking to Bild, he said the SPD would only consider such a step as part of a broader pension reform package and described it as a “painful concession.”
Klüssendorf argued that people who have spent decades working and paying into the pension system deserve the opportunity to retire earlier without financial penalties.
“People who have worked for a very long time and paid their contributions should be able to retire early without deductions,” he said. He also welcomed criticism of the proposal from eastern German leaders, including members of the CDU, calling it a positive signal if the party softened its position.
The premiers of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia, all from the CDU, jointly called for the benefit to remain in place. They argued that ending the scheme would hit eastern Germans particularly hard because many retirees in the region depend primarily on the state pension for their income.
The position was echoed by Brandenburg’s Minister-President Dietmar Woidke and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania’s Minister-President Manuela Schwesig, both members of the SPD.
Despite the resistance, leading figures in the conservative camp remain committed to the recommendation made by Germany’s pension reform commission.
CDU parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei described the proposal to phase out the early retirement option as a “smart solution” that would strengthen fairness between generations. He emphasized that the coalition had agreed in principle to implement the commission’s recommendations and said he remained personally committed to that approach.
CSU parliamentary leader Alexander Hoffmann also urged coalition partners to respect previous agreements, arguing that sustainable compromises are necessary to keep the pension system reliable and financially viable.
Meanwhile, Johannes Winkel, head of the Young Union, warned against reopening negotiations on reforms that had already been carefully negotiated.
The German social association VdK renewed its criticism of the proposal. VdK President Verena Bentele said abolishing the benefit would unfairly affect people who had worked and contributed for decades. She called on lawmakers to ensure that no group is disadvantaged during the pension reform process.
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