Press Statement Statement on the pension policy proposals

IG Metall supports the proposals from the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to introduce a basic pension for long-term contributors and an exemption for the statutory pension under the basic income support system. “This addresses the social scandal that decades of contributions do not result in pensions above the basic income support level. These proposals are a step in the right direction to combat growing poverty in old age,” says Jörg Hofmann, First Chairman of IG Metall, assessing the proposals now on the table. “However, there remains a sprawling low-wage sector with precarious employment conditions for millions of people. This is a key cause of poverty in old age and must therefore be addressed urgently.”

“With the basic pension, Hubertus Heil is taking up our long-standing demand for a reform of the pension system based on minimum earnings points. This is intended to prevent workers with low wages and gaps in their employment history from ending up on basic social security. It is important that this reassessment of pension history also applies to existing pensions,” said Hans-Jürgen Urban, the executive board member responsible for social policy.