Press Statement Important Path to Retirement Savings Blocked Through the Back Door

Hans-Jürgen Urban, Executive Board Member of IG Metall:

“Good occupational pensions are important. The new law can help ensure that even low-wage earners benefit from an occupational pension.

However, a new provision in the law that limits the accumulation of additional pension points in the statutory pension fund is completely incomprehensible and harmful. Today, even insured individuals under the age of 50 can, in principle, use extra payments to protect themselves against potential pension reductions. The coalition wants to ban this in the future and allow it only for older people. The amended section [Section 187a(1a) of Book VI of the Social Code (SGB VI)] was sneaked into the law through the back door without any public debate. This prevents unions from expanding an important pension provision pathway for insured individuals in the statutory pension system through collective bargaining agreements.

Politicians call on people to close their pension gaps and then, for their part, shut down existing avenues for supplemental retirement planning. Promising retirement savings options for employees at companies without corporate pension plans are being severely restricted. Evidently, the “traffic light” coalition aims to remove pension insurance providers from the “competition” for good supplemental retirement savings and to unilaterally favor high-risk, stock-based retirement savings and the insurance industry.”