PRESS RELEASE No. 16/2019 Jörg Hofmann: The basic pension recognizes a lifetime of work

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall welcomes Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil’s plans for a basic pension. “The basic pension is a matter of justice. It is also right and proper that it should be paid without a means test. This recognizes a lifetime of work. However, we would like to see it fully funded by taxes,” said Jörg Hofmann, President of IG Metall, on Wednesday in Frankfurt.

IG Metall rejects the criticism that the basic pension is unfair. “It’s certainly surprising when neoliberals suddenly take up the cause of social justice and, of all things, call the basic pension unfair. I call it unfair when workers, after 35 years of contributing to the statutory pension insurance system, receive no more in old age than the basic income support that is granted even without their own contributions. I call it fair when disadvantages experienced during working life do not also lead to disadvantages in old age,” said Hans-Jürgen Urban, executive board member of IG Metall responsible for social policy. Urban points out that low wages are often the cause of low pensions and poverty in old age. “The cost of the basic pension could be lower if wages paid in the labor market were sufficient to provide adequate pensions in old age.”

The basic pension enjoys broad support among the public. Eighty percent of Germans support the idea that workers who have worked for 35 years or longer should receive a pension supplement. This is shown by a representative survey conducted by the polling firm Kantar in late April on behalf of IG Metall.