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Kühnert Decries Politicians’ Pensions, Cites €800 a Month for Four Years in Bundestag

Constitutional shields on current civil‑service pensions leave only prospective hiring limits or capped benefits on the table.

Overview

  • Kevin Kühnert called the current provision for former politicians unjust and said his roughly four years in the Bundestag would yield about €800 a month at retirement age.
  • He reiterated his push to bring civil servants into the statutory pension system and noted his role on the DGB’s alternative pension commission.
  • Economists quoted by Welt am Sonntag urged savings on civil‑service pensions, including reducing new tenures and curbing special payments.
  • Pension expert Bernd Raffelhüschen said benefits for already tenured civil servants cannot be cut under constitutional law, leaving scope mainly in special‑payment rules and fewer future appointments.
  • Economist Martin Werding proposed lowering the 71.75% maximum pension rate for civil servants, arguing the Constitutional Court could accept it if framed as equal treatment with statutory pensions.