Debate over Intergenerational Justice: Younger and Older Generations Clash on Pensions

Jörg Tremmel, spokesman for the board of the Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations, warned in an interview with “Focus Online” about intergenerational justice between young and old. He demanded: “The younger ones have to pay a little more, but the older ones must also be willing to get a little less”. Tremmel didn’t have to wait long for opposition to his views on pensions.

As SPD politician and federal chairman of the AG SPD 60 plus Lothar Binding (73) told this editorial team, it was clear that we “do not have a problem between old and young, but a problem between rich and poor”. “The naming of the ‘Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations’ distracts from this fact”. It sees itself as a “lobby for young people and creates a conflict in pensions that does not exist,” says Binding.

Pension: “Actually, we are not talking about pension, but about wages”

And further: “Actually, we are not talking about pensions, but about wages. If wages are high, a pension level of 48 percent may be sufficient. With high wages, it is also easier for employees who are subject to compulsory insurance to make higher contributions than 18.6 percent in the pension fund”.

There is a lot of talk about demographics, but less about productivity. “If those who are actively working have high productivity and a good income, for example through education and research, automation, digitization, better nutrition or a powerful health system, a more effective transport system – but also because the previously actively working generation left a good infrastructure – prosperity and standard of living can increase overall for young and old, even though the age pyramid is almost upside down”.

Nevertheless, he warns: “If we neither change its system nor its most important key figures, the pension system can become unstable”. For Peter-Michael Zernechel from the German Social Association (SoVD), the juxtaposition of statutory pensions and civil service pensions must be “critically examined” in this context. Since the latter “enables significantly higher retirement benefits in a direct comparison”.

However, both Binding and the SoVD welcome “Mr. Tremmel’s proposal to introduce an employee insurance scheme that includes all employees without exception”. This could “financially cushion the baby boomers’ entry into retirement”, as Zernechel explains.