The lower house of the German parliament, the Bundestag, will vote today on a major pension package proposed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz's ruling coalition, after months of political disputes and disagreements within the conservative bloc. The result of the vote is expected around 13:00 local time (14:00 Bulgarian time), DPA reports, BTA reports.
The central bill in the package focuses on stabilising pension levels and expanding the so-called “maternity pension“. Some MPs from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the bloc's youth wing have expressed concerns about future costs amounting to billions of euros. The vote on this project will be by roll call and represents a key test for Merz's coalition, which includes the CDU, The Christian Social Union (CSU) and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
The “mother’s pension” is a mechanism by which periods of child-rearing are recognized as pension insurance periods and lead to an increase in pension points. It is not a separate type of pension, but a way to increase the statutory old-age pension. Parents receive up to 2.5 years of insurance periods for children born before 1992 and 3 years for children born after that date. In 2019, the “mother’s pension II” was introduced, and the “mother’s pension III” is planned for 2027, with the possibility of its introduction being postponed.
Despite internal disagreements, a coalition majority remains possible, as the “Left” party announced that it would abstain, and the abstainers do not participate in determining the simple majority. Merz stressed that his goal is to achieve a “chancellor's majority“ - an absolute majority of the coalition's votes.
The other two bills in the package, increasing occupational pensions and introducing tax incentives for working after retirement age, are not met with resistance among the ruling party, and the opposition has submitted its own proposals for changes.
The vote is taking place against the backdrop of a survey commissioned by public broadcaster ARD and conducted by Infratest dimap. According to it, 76% of Germans are against reducing the pension level below 48% of average income, 69% are against a slower increase in pensions compared to wages, and 81% oppose a possible increase in the retirement age to 70. Approval for expanding mandatory pension insurance is high - 83% support the inclusion of civil servants, self-employed people and politicians.
The pension package provides for a minimum pension level of 48% of average wages until at least 2031, and the cost of this measure is expected to reach around 11 billion euros ($12.8 billion).
The survey was conducted between December 1 and 3 among 1,306 German citizens over 18 years old through telephone interviews and an online survey and is representative of the population with a margin of statistical error of 2-3 percentage points.