A coalition agreement to abolish Germany's penalty-free early retirement after 45 contribution years is facing open revolt, with SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf questioning the deal that Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Labour Minister Bärbel Bas had endorsed based on expert commission recommendations.
Klüssendorf argued the elimination has always been a core CDU demand, while five eastern state premiers — three from the CDU and two from the SPD — publicly opposed the cut. The CDU leadership, however, insists on holding to the commission's full package, with parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei calling the proposal "completely right."
CSU lawmaker Florian Dorn warned that removing the early retirement measure could destabilise the entire pension reform, which aims to plug a multi-billion-euro annual cost to the social insurance system.