According to plans within the federal government, the share pension is to be significantly increased. As the “Handelsblatt” reported, the federal government wants to pay twelve billion euros into the so-called generational capital from 2024. This sum is to be increased by three percent annually in the following years. By 2035, generational capital should reach a volume of 200 billion euros. The report was confirmed to the German Press Agency today by government circles.

In the coalition agreement, the SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed on seed capital for the share pension of ten billion euros. This amount is reserved in the 2023 budget.

The federal government also wants to rely on the capital market for long-term pension security in the future. A capital stock is to be built up piece by piece from public funds, from the income of which the pension contributions and the pension level are to be stabilized. We are talking about “generational capital”.

Agreed on enlargement

According to the “Handelsblatt” report, the labor and finance ministries agreed in negotiations to expand the project. Recently there were still concerns in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. The Ministry of Labor said it was in good and constructive talks within the government.

Generational capital is a central element of a planned pension reform that Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) and Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) intend to present soon.

Representatives of the Greens and trade unions had recently criticized the planned generational capital. “We are very skeptical that the pension system should be partially reformed from a contribution system to an investment system,” said DGB boss Yasmin Fahimi of the dpa. The Greens pension expert Markus Kurth even fundamentally questioned generational capital. “The share pension according to the concept of the Federal Ministry of Finance raises numerous serious financial, state aid, but above all constitutional questions,” said Kurth in an analysis.