CSU winter meeting: expand mother’s pension? Merz reserved, economist critical

Union Chancellor candidate Friedrich Merz reacted cautiously to the CSU’s demand for an expansion of the so-called mother’s pension. This was always a topic of the CSU that was treated with great sympathy, including himself, said the CDU chairman at the end of the winter retreat of the CSU regional group in the Seeon monastery in Upper Bavaria. But he immediately qualified: “However, we are always faced with the question: Shouldn’t we also improve the infrastructure for looking after children? That will have to be weighed up in the end.” And then the candidate for chancellor said: “I have a different focus.”

Economist: Don’t give out gifts

The economist Veronika Grimm is critical of the CSU’s demands: “I think we can’t afford to give out any more gifts during the election campaign,” said Grimm in Seeon. We’ll see if that happens then.

Progress is needed elsewhere, and the expansion of the mother’s pension runs counter to this, argued Grimm and emphasized: “What we need is a reduction in non-wage labor costs and a reduction in the costs of the social security systems.” The economist is a member of the Council of Experts for the Assessment of Overall Economic Development, whose members are also referred to as economic experts.

CSU wants three pension points for all mothers

The CSU wants to score points in the federal election campaign with the mother’s pension: It wants to ensure that mothers also have three years of education counted towards their pension for children born before 1992.

Currently, up to three years of parenting time is only taken into account for children born in 1992 or later. Otherwise, a maximum of two years and six months of child-rearing time will be credited.

In the joint election program with its sister party CDU, the CSU did not include the demand for an expansion of the mother’s pension.

Dobrindt sees a question of justice

CSU regional group leader Alexander Dobrindt defended his party’s “clear position”. The expansion of the mother’s pension is a “question of justice”. “It’s also about avoiding poverty in old age. The mother’s pension has made a big contribution to this, and that’s why it’s another central topic that will be implemented.”

When it comes to reducing additional wage costs, the aim is to use citizens’ money. “But not with the lifetime achievements of a generation that played a key role in building this country, and that is the mothers,” said Dobrindt. That’s why the CSU sees the mother’s pension independently of other economic issues.

4.45 billion euros per year

According to calculations by the pension insurance, expanding the mother’s pension would cost around 4.45 billion euros per year. Converted, this would correspond to around a quarter of a percentage point of the contribution rate, a spokeswoman for the German pension insurance told the “Rheinische Post”.