“Who should pay for the traffic light pension package” from March 9th and commentary “The young pay” from March 7th:
Invest sustainably
The commentary “The young pay” describes the federal government's plans for the pension package as highly unfair because the financial burden that the package entails in the form of higher pension contributions is placed on the younger generations. However, the comment ignores the fact that the so-called generational capital, which is assessed positively in the article, can have a completely different negative impact on the younger generations.
With generation capital, the German state will act as a significant shareholder and investor in the medium term. A truly sustainable design of investment practice would exclude investments in shares of companies whose business is based on fossil fuels from the outset. Because it is the activities of such companies that continue to undermine the future prospects of younger generations as the climate crisis continues to worsen. The federal government has not yet lived up to its responsibility when it comes to existing state funds. For example, the federal government is investing more than half a billion euros from its pension reserves for nursing care insurance and civil servants' pensions in climate-damaging stocks in the fossil fuel industry, as research by the ARD magazine “Panorama” showed in 2022. With generation capital, these sums would be many times higher.
The positive examples of other public investors show that such mistakes can be avoided. For example, the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund, which is often seen as a model for generational capital, has long been setting standards by withdrawing from the climate-damaging industries of oil, gas and coal since 2015. So far there is no sign of this in the draft law on generational capital. However, the federal government still has the chance to change course, avoid incorrect definitions right from the start and act responsibly in the interests of future generations.
Dr. Ulrich Kleinwechter, Berlin
Stock investment on credit
A term like “generational capital” triggers skepticism. Reputable financial advisors would advise their customers against buying stocks on credit. However, the federal government ignores this advice, relies on low loan interest rates and at the same time assumes optimistic dividends. Converted to the individual pension, the income that the federal government generates on the stock exchanges should ideally amount to a few euros per month. In the worst case, this could lead to losses for the state.
Wouldn't it make more sense to start the capital pension with the income generated from the state's shareholdings in companies? And what about the idea of giving tax advantages to individual solutions for citizens, such as the purchase of index funds? And before burdening the younger generation with high pension contributions in the long term, taboos such as inheritance, capital gains and wealth taxes, but also automation or robot taxes, should be taken into account.
Rolf Sintram, Lübeck
Let officials pay in!
Once again a highly complex, not necessarily thought through compromise proposal to stabilize pensions with a “third pillar”: Additional money should now come into pension funds via the stock market. If the financial markets are to be included, why not use the relatively well-functioning Swedish model as an example, where contributors have to invest 2.5 percent of their income in the capital market. You can freely choose between different funds – or the money goes into a sovereign wealth fund.
Of course, the proposal from VdK President Verena Bentele to finally introduce compulsory statutory pension insurance for all employees – including our civil servants – is much simpler and more effective. Unfortunately, all parties have been afraid to take this step for decades because they don't want to scare away this huge potential voter base. What a cowardly attitude!
Heinrich Schwab, Stockdorf
Roller coaster ride of courses
Rien ne va plus: Raising money through investments on the capital market also means buying stocks. Courses are sometimes on a rollercoaster ride. Christian Lindner and Hubertus Heil can also go directly to Monaco and try their luck at the roulette table there.
Why isn't the rich tax introduced like elsewhere? Why aren't tax havens starved and subsidies to filthy rich corporations stopped? That would be more effective. But of course that doesn't work with the FDP mini-party.
Norbert Kemp, Regenstauf
Uncertain future
Statements about the future of pensions are nothing more than forecasts. Especially in a pay-as-you-go system like ours. The common idea that you have acquired a specific pension entitlement over the course of your working life is simply wrong. Because only as much pension can be distributed each year as the contributions come in.
Since fewer and fewer contributors have to pay for each pension recipient, there is a distribution problem that grows over the years. On the one hand, the few contributors will probably be fleeced more than before, but on the other hand, pensioners will also have to be kept shorter. The standard of living of the working population must rise more slowly than economic output so that the standard of living of pensioners does not fall too sharply. Basically, this balance has to be found again and again. You can't say today what will happen in 20 years. This will depend, for example, on how many foreign workers come to us, but also on the employment rate of women, the average retirement age and life expectancy. And of course it could also be that ideas about what is fair distribution of burdens between generations will change over time.
Axel Lehmann, Munich
Urgent and important
Many years ago, in a training course, I learned about a so-called urgency-importance matrix, according to which things that are currently unimportant become more important when they become urgent. For this reason, I understand very well how today, as baby boomers are gradually retiring, people suddenly switch to more or less hectic activities because of the problems that are piling up. Although it has been obvious for decades that a problem will arise. Above all, the longer you wait to take countermeasures, the bigger the problem becomes.
Now that there are increasingly older people living in democratic Germany who will certainly not vote for any restrictions on their retirement benefits, we have the salad: on the one hand, one cannot and does not want to scare away older voters by lowering the pension level, and on the other hand, it is forbidden to state the state Allowing subsidies for pension insurance to rise to unbelievable heights. So the only thing left is to ask the younger people to pay. This development had been foreseeable for decades: it was important decades ago, but unfortunately not urgent, so people thought they could take their time. Things that are important but not urgent need to be addressed as soon as possible because at some point they will become urgent and then it will be too late.
What would have been the point of involving the baby boomers in setting up a sensible financing of their future pensions, for example by pointing out at an early stage that the future pension level would have to fall if it was to be financeable. Then you could have taken precautions privately, for example by foregoing a long-distance trip and investing the money saved in retirement provision. But no, people in Germany have been encouraged for many years that they live in paradise and don't have to worry about their future.
Erich Würth, Munich
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