Making the welfare state future-proof and affordable

Employers' President Dr. Rainer Dulger on today's cabinet decision on the pension package:

Making the welfare state future-proof and affordable

Berlin, August 6, 2025: "Today's cabinet decision is a mistake with long-term consequences. The planned pension package will be a boomerang for future generations. With additional costs of around 50 billion euros up to 2031 alone, it would be the most expensive social legislation of this century. Instead of making the welfare state future-proof and affordable, the federal government is continuing to rely on expensive promises.

This policy does not create confidence in the sustainability of pension insurance. It is driving up costs without keeping an eye on intergenerational fairness. There is no hiding from demographics.

The Bundestag should correct this course in key areas. The signals from the younger generation are correct. They make it clear that not everyone shares the visionary approach to pension policy.

We are also counting on Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz to follow up his announcements with action - and for the government to present concrete reform proposals this year to ensure that our welfare state remains affordable."