Germany debates raising retirement age to 70
Germany is reporting a record number of job vacancies in the first quarter of this year the number jumped to an unprecedented 1.74 million open positions. That number was the highest since reunification 30 years ago.
At the same time, Germany also has a record shortage of young people. According to the Federal Statistics Office in July, only 10% of the population is aged between 15 and 24, compared to 20% over the age of 65.
The country’s birth rate is too low to compensate for the age shift. This also means that the state pension pot is under severe pressure.
One proposed solution is to raise the retirement age to 70. The president of the Federation of German Employers’ Associations in the Metal and Electrical Engineering Industries Stefan Wolf called for this move at the beginning of August. And at summer vacation time the proposal quickly got picked up by national media.
Trade unions, social groups, and left-wingers reacted with fury, with the socialist Left Party’s Dietmar Bartsch, calling the proposal “anti-social bullshit”.
Currently, Germany is in the process of gradually raising its retirement age from the previous 65 to 67 for those born after 1967.
Read more @DW
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