PRESS RELEASE NO. 40/2021 IG Metall: “Now is the time to boldly change course on pension policy!”

Frankfurt am Main – On the occasion of the DGB’s day of action under the slogan “TRULY FAIR: Strengthen the statutory pension!” on September 21, 2021, IG Metall is calling on a future federal government to take action on pension policy.

Dr. Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall, makes it clear: “If policymakers don’t have the courage to change course, there will be further gaps in the statutory pension system within five years at the latest.” Urban firmly rejects employers’ demands to raise the retirement age: “A further increase in the retirement age does not lead to people working longer, but all too often to higher pension reductions and thus to a massive pension cut through the back door,” says Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall. Urban emphasizes that many workers are simply unable to work any longer: “After years of physically demanding work, many people can’t even manage to work until age 60, let alone reach the standard retirement age. Demanding a further increase in the retirement age is therefore downright cynical.”

IG Metall supports the DGB’s nationwide actions on September 21. In over 200 cities and regions across Germany, workers will be informed about pension policy at train stations and in town squares.

96 percent of workers find the retirement age of 67 unrealistically high

IG Metall surveyed workers in the metal and electrical industries on the issue of raising the retirement age. Of more than 250,000 workers, 96 percent were convinced that not all employees in their companies can work until the current standard retirement age. The consequence of early retirement is significant pension reductions—that is, lower pensions.

In addition to easier access to disability pensions, many workers need realistic options for exiting the workforce—even before reaching the statutory retirement age. IG Metall is also calling for an increase in pension levels in the medium term, effective protection against poverty in old age, and the expansion of the pension insurance system into a comprehensive insurance program for employees, the self-employed, and civil servants.

Dr. Hans-Jürgen Urban in conversation: TRANSFORMATION, WELFARE STATE, POLITICS

Further information and press photos of Dr. Hans-Jürgen Urban