Grüne on pensions

The Greens want to secure the statutory pension level at no less than 48 percent for the long term. The Grundrente (basic pension supplement) would become a guaranteed pension that applies after 30 years of insurance and reaches more people. Good wages and a broad base of contributors are meant to fund pensions.

The Greens want to keep pensions stable. The pension level should stay at 48 percent or more. People insured for 30 years should get a guaranteed pension. This should prevent poverty in old age. More people should pay into the pension system.

The costs of an aging population are to be shared across generations and according to wealth and ability to pay. The guaranteed pension would cover more people and pay more than today's Grundrente. To rebuild public consensus on pensions, the platform proposes a participatory process such as a citizens' assembly or a pension commission. The contribution base would grow through more regular employment, better job opportunities for women, skilled immigration, a higher minimum wage and fewer mini-jobs.

The Greens want to gradually turn the statutory pension into a citizens' insurance (Bürgerversicherung) that additional groups pay into. According to the platform, this would make old-age provision fairer and sustainable.

The Greens want one pension insurance for everyone. Members of parliament should pay in too. Self-employed people without other coverage should join. Later, civil servants should also be included.

Members of parliament would pay contributions to the statutory pension. Self-employed people without other coverage would be brought in on fair terms. Civil servants would follow in the longer run, while keeping the Alimentationsprinzip, the state's duty to provide for them adequately.

The Greens want to leave the standard retirement age at 67 but make voluntarily working longer more attractive. The early pension for people with very long contribution records would stay, and the disability pension would be improved.

The Greens want to keep the retirement age at 67. People who want to work longer should get benefits. The so-called pension at 63 should stay. People who are too sick to work should get more support.

The move into partial retirement would become more flexible, and working while drawing a pension would pay off more. To that end, the employer's contribution to unemployment and pension insurance would be paid out to employees who choose not to make voluntary pension contributions. The party also plans to invest in prevention and rehabilitation so that older workers stay healthy on the job. The platform justifies the so-called pension at 63 by pointing to the strain of decades of physical work.

The Greens want to set up a publicly managed citizens' fund that adds a funded component to the statutory pension. The fund would also be open for private and workplace retirement savings and would invest according to social and climate criteria.

The Greens want to start a fund for pensions. A fund invests money to earn returns. The state would run this fund. The money would come from the federal government, not from pension contributions. Citizens could also save there cheaply for old age.

The capital would come only from federal budget loans and transferred federal assets; pension contributions would be permanently excluded from investment. The fund would follow the 1.5-degree target, invest in the real economy and be overseen by parliament. Its returns would help pay for the guaranteed pension. Citizens could pay in voluntarily at low cost, with the option to opt out, or use other products such as ETF savings plans. Allowances for small savers would rise and be tied to inflation, and subsidies would focus on low and middle incomes.