German Chancellor Olaf Scholz vowed on Wednesday that his government would fight so that young people can count on receiving their state pensions in retirement.
“The fact that we want to guarantee a stable pension level in Germany is one of the major plans of this government,” said Scholz during debate on his coalition’s proposed budget in parliament.
The 17-year-olds in the country, who are now leaving school and will be paying pension contributions for five decades, need to know what they can rely on in the future, the chancellor said.
“The most important asset that many in our country have is their pension entitlement, their pension insurance,” he added.
Young people therefore need a “clear statement,” which this government wants to give them.
“We guarantee this security for our citizens,” emphasized Scholz.
Scholz also promised to do everything in his power to support families in the country and to push ahead with the expansion of all-day childcare and daycare centres.
The government is spending billions of euros on those efforts, he said.
At the same time, the chancellor emphasized that he also wanted to offer older people more flexibility in old age, and change policies to make it easier for them to work into older age if they so desire.
