Youthful Union advocates for elevating the retirement age.
The discussion surrounding pensions within the Conservative Democratic Union (CDU) appears to be at an impasse. Prior to the "Germany Day" of the youth group, its leader voices support for a later retirement age. However, the federal party and the social wing strongly oppose this notion. Will there be a confrontation during the Young Union's party conference?
Johannes Winkel, the leader of the Young Union (JU), has expressed his approval for a higher retirement age. "It would be just if the retirement age increased," Winkel told the "Stuttgarter Zeitung" and the "Stuttgarter Nachrichten" ahead of the Young Politicians' event in Halle (Saale), which spans from Friday to Sunday. "The CDU's fundamental program dictates that the retirement age should follow life expectancy. I anticipate this demand to also be reflected in the CDU's election program."
Winkel expressed that the specifics of a later retirement can be debated. However, he emphasized that something needs to be done. "This is a matter of intergenerational justice for me," Winkel added.
Recently, CDU leader Friedrich Merz dismissed the call for a higher retirement age in the election program. "There will not be a pension at 70 in the election program nor in a potential coalition agreement with us," the parliamentary group leader told the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) in August. "We have discussed the topic in the party bodies."
Merz acknowledged that the basic program states, "We must link working life with life expectancy in the long term." However, he also remarked, "But we are against a rigid, formulaic retirement age for all occupational groups. That simply won't work."
CDU Social Wing: No Pension at 70
The discord within the party intensified when the Middle Class and Business Union advocated for the "regular retirement age to be adjusted to life expectancy." In response, the CDU's social wing, the so-called Christian Democratic Workers' Association (CDA), announced, "There will not be a gradual shift towards a pension at 70 or higher for everyone," Dennis Radtke, the current CDA chairman, recently said to the "Tagesspiegel." "With the CDA, there will be no flat-rate pension at 70 and no decrease in the funding below 48 percent!"
Radtke encouraged thoughtful pension debates. "Those who initiate such debates need the courage to differentiate. Many people, such as those in care or construction, cannot physically work beyond 67 years. We should not scare them." He advocated for focusing less on the entry age and more on "how we can expand the financing base for pensions."
It is evident that if Merz speaks at the JU Germany Day on Saturday afternoon, it could lead to discomfort - either for the federal chairman or the larger number of youngsters.
Johannes Winkel, acknowledging the CDU's fundamental program, continues to advocate for the retirement age to align with life expectancy, which he believes should be reflected in the party's election program. Despite the CDU Social Wing's opposition to a pension at 70, Winkel emphasizes the importance of intergenerational justice in addressing the issue of a later retirement age.
