coalition break
What the traffic light off means for ministers’ pensions
Federal ministers actually have to be in office for four years in order to be entitled to a pension. But there is an exception for the traffic light ministers.
Many traffic light ministers will not have been in office for a full four-year legislative period at the end of the government. Most people are still entitled to a pension, i.e. the pension for federal ministers – because special rules apply when there is a question of trust.
If no confidence is expressed in the Federal Chancellor, according to the Federal Ministerial Act, “uninterrupted membership in the federal government of more than two years” is sufficient for the full pension. Only Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has not yet completed these two years. He was sworn into the Bundestag on January 19, 2023.
However, the exception does not apply to the FDP ministers who were dismissed or who left the government themselves – i.e. Christian Lindner, Marco Buschmann and Bettina Stark-Watzinger. Buschmann confirmed this in “Welt am Sonntag”: “The exception does not apply to my case. That means: I have no right to a pension.”
The same standard retirement age applies to federal ministers as to federal civil servants, i.e. the gradual increase to 67 years. According to the Taxpayers’ Association, the pension paid until the end of life is 4,990 euros for four years in office – and increases with each additional year as a member of the government up to a maximum of 12,908 euros per month.
dpa
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
