Citizens’ allowance and pension: Müntefering demands courage for social reforms

Former SPD chairman Franz Müntefering demands courage from his party among the planned social reforms. In an interview by the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”, Müntefering made it clear that he considers an increase in the retirement age to be sensible. Under his aegis as Minister of Labor, the gradual increase in the standard age limit from 65 to 67 was introduced in 2006. “Then as now, you can calculate what happens if you don’t do anything. I said to myself at the time: You shouldn’t pinch, you have to say what’s going on,” said Müntefering from the SZ.

His plea in contradiction to the course of his party and his successor at the head of the party and the Ministry of Labor, Bärbel Bas. This has so far rejected an increase in the retirement age. BAS wants to present its plans to reform the civil allowance shortly – a topic that is also controversial. From 2026, a pension commission is to develop plans for large reforms.

So far, the large pension reform is only a discussion

Basically, the question is how, given a growing number of pensioners, expenses for the pension should be generated. One way is to expand the circle of contributors. The chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), Yasmin Fahimi, told the newspapers of the Funke media group: “We need more employment for this. We achieve them by integrating people into the labor market more sustainably through more immigration from abroad and by no longer being pushed into part-time.” Above all, the self -employed would have to be included. Fahimi refused to pay pension contributions in the future.

Active pension: More flexibility or take -off effects?

Müntefering welcomed the model of an active pension planned by the Union and the SPD. “This is good, the system has to become more flexible overall,” he said to the plans, according to which pensioners should be able to earn tax -free up to 2,000 euros a month. Fahimi, however, doubts that this will have a major effect on employment: “It will probably lead to take -take effects in those who already work in old age.” The federal government is aiming for a start of the active pension on January 1, 2026.

The need for action in organized social fraud

In the discussion about the citizens’ money reform, the joint outrage over an organized social fraud, which BAS had also publicly addressed, had tightened. “The free movement of the EU is exploited. People are put into overpriced rents by organized gangs in scrap properties and work for a few hours, often only formally in false employment contracts, but also refer to citizenship,” said CDU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn of the “Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung”. “We should quickly start an EU initiative to end this abuse.”

According to a report by the “Augsburger Allgemeine”, the Federal Employment Agency has a persistently high number of suspected cases of such a gangy fraud in the citizen benefit. According to this, 293 procedures were re -launched by August this year, and criminal complaint has already been filed in 151 cases. The number of internal procedures in the first eight months is the equivalent of the same high level as in the previous year. The number of unreported cases should be significantly higher, the newspaper reported, citing the employment agency.

Spahn also spoke out in favor of deleting the citizens’ allowance if someone rejects a offered area. Fahimi said this proposal from the Union violated the Basic Law and passed the core of the problem: “We have to focus on those who could work, but always fail to really gain a foothold in the labor market.”