Press Statement Pensions: Cuts Are Non-Negotiable

IG Metall Social Affairs Director Hans-Jürgen Urban: “Pensions cannot be saved by a policy of fear and cuts, but rather by taking decisive action: through a truly solidarity-based financing system that ensures greater reliability. One key component of this is insurance coverage for all working people.

Cuts affecting workers—both current and future retirees—are non-negotiable: from real pension cuts to a higher retirement age. Every cut to the system places a burden on the insured. A lower pension level means a higher individual financial risk through private retirement savings. A higher retirement age means an unrealistic additional burden on working life for many, as well as higher pension reductions. Anyone who undermines the promise of social security jeopardizes the foundation of our welfare state.

No cuts to the system help the younger generation. They, too, depend on a stable and reliable statutory pension. Stabilizing the pension level in the long term improves the intergenerational balance for young people. For contrary to what the self-appointed advocates of future generations would have us believe, a declining pension level will become a burden for those still far from retirement when they are forced to close their own pension gaps in old age through expensive private pension plans. A pension policy that is fair to all generations requires the stabilization of pension levels—not just until 2031.”

Further information and press photos of Hans-Jürgen Urban