The German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has placed increasing retirement age on top of its list of priorities for its pension policy programme, if it wins the general election next year.

“Adjusting the retirement age to life expectancy must be [included] both in the government programme and in the party’s manifesto (Grundsatzprogramm),” said Gitta Connemann, chair of the Mittelstands und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT), the pro-business political association of the CDU and its ally Christian Social Union (CSU), in an interview with the Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung.

The CDU will decide on linking retirement age to life expectancy in the next legislative period, if it takes over government after the general election, which could take place in September 2025, she added.

The Union, the coalition between the CDU and the CSU, is leading in the polls with 30%, followed by right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) with 19%, and the Social Democrats with 16%, according to a survey by research institute Insa published today.

Connemann added that the possibility for those who have been insured for a long time can retire two years earlier must be dropped.

The so-called ‘Rente mit 63‘ rule – which gives the option to retire from 63 years old to people who have been insured for a long time – has been a source of discontent within the government coalition of Social Democrats (SPD), Greens and the liberal party (FDP).

The FDP has long called to introduce rules for people wanting to work longer, exiting the ‘Rente mit 63’ option supported by the SPD.

Additionally, the MIT rejects equity pension (Aktienrente) plans modelled on the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund.

“The Norwegians have been investing huge [amounts of] proceeds from natural resources for decades,” Connemann said.

The government has proposed an equity pension pot in the first pillar – Generationenkapital – as part of a broader reform of the pay-as-you-go system, that would allocate 80% of the funds in equities, 20% in alternatives, and a smaller allocation in bonds.

The CDU wants to strengthen capital-funded pensions through occupational pensions and the Riester-Rente, a private pension option that will likely be reformed following recommendations of a group of experts.

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