Overview

• Labor Minister Bärbel Bas has proposed requiring civil servants, self-employed individuals, and MPs to contribute to Germany's statutory pension system to bolster revenues.
• The proposal aims to address demographic pressures and ensure the pension level remains at 48% until 2031, as guaranteed in the coalition agreement.
• The German civil servants' federation (dbb) has strongly opposed the plan, citing high implementation costs and systemic challenges.
• Bas has also committed to intensifying sanctions against social benefit fraud, targeting both recipients and employers complicit in undeclared work.
• While advocating for stricter enforcement, Bas emphasized that the constitutional right to a subsistence minimum must be upheld, ruling out full benefit cuts.