CDU rift over 'pension at 63' threatens Merz's reform package as Söder warns against cherry-picking
Three eastern CDU state premiers defend the early retirement rule, clashing with party leaders and Chancellor Merz, who insist the commission's full package must pass.
The commission's proposal
In June, the government's pension commission presented 33 recommendations, including abolishing the "pension at 63" – the option to retire without deductions after 45 years of contributions. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Labor Minister Bärbel Bas pledged to implement the package in full. Merz said, "We cannot afford to take out individual measures." Bas called it a "Gesamtkunstwerk" and ruled out cherry-picking.
Eastern rebellion
On Thursday, the CDU minister-presidents of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia – Michael Kretschmer, Sven Schulze, and Mario Voigt – sent a letter to the federal government defending the early retirement rule.
Whoever has paid in for 45 years has paid enough. We will not give up this principle.
Their intervention broke with the party line and triggered a heated debate within the coalition.
- Pension commission presents 33 recommendations, including abolition of Rente mit 63.
- Three eastern CDU state premiers send letter defending early retirement.
- Söder warns against unraveling reform; Bas demands CDU clarify stance.
- State elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berlin.
- Merz aims to pass reform by year-end.
Söder's warning
CSU leader Markus Söder cautioned against unraveling the reform. In an ARD summer interview, he said he was surprised by the timing and substance of the eastern push, noting that all parties had agreed to adopt the commission's proposals one-to-one.
I believe we have to be careful not to tear open the whole pension package, because otherwise we will end up with no answer to this vital demographic question.
He also reiterated his call for longer working hours, arguing that proposals for less work or earlier retirement "will not work in the long run."
Party leadership pushes back
Union parliamentary group leader Thorsten Frei and new CDU general secretary Franziska Hoppermann insisted the abolition remains part of the reform. Hoppermann told dpa the package was a balanced whole; removing individual points would endanger the compromise. Pascal Reddig, head of the Young Group in the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and a member of the pension commission, warned on X: "Whoever pulls out individual building blocks must know that they will bring the whole house down." He urged courage to implement the plan "instead of blocking out of fear of elections." State elections are due in September in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, and Berlin.
SPD's position
Labor Minister Bas demanded the CDU clarify its stance. She acknowledged the commission's proposal was not the SPD's "wish result" but stressed the package fits together. "The SPD will certainly not be against it" if the Union wants to keep the early pension, she said, noting the irony that the CDU had traditionally sought to abolish early retirement while the SPD introduced it. SPD general secretary Tim Klüssendorf also called on the CDU to sort out its position. MP Ralf Stegner told Tagesspiegel that a good compromise could find a coalition majority, but without one, "the thing has no chance."
What happens next
No draft legislation exists yet. Merz aims to pass the reform by the end of the year. The commission's report argues that the deduction-free early pension mainly benefits higher earners, healthier individuals, and men, while low earners and those with unstable careers cannot access it. The current earliest retirement age under the rule is 64.5 years, not 63. The commission also proposed exceptions for those who can no longer work for health reasons after 35 years of contributions.
