Minimum pension and the increase of the pensions
Two other proposals are more likely to survive the negotiations, albeit these are
expensive, too, namely the minimum pension and the increase of the pensions
for mothers with children borne before 1992. A supplementary benefit for
employees with low pensions despite long working careers, which already was
on the past Groko’s agenda, would cost nearly EUR 1 bn in 2020. The burden
from higher pensions for the respective mothers would be even higher – at least
in the short- and medium-term (EUR 7.2 bn in 2020).
The growth path of the health care expenditure and of government interventions
in this area are difficult to predict. On the one hand the SPD requests a merger
of the private and statutory health insurance into a single “citizens’ insurance”
system, so that all citizens (at present 89%) including the civil servants and the
self-employed shall be members of the new scheme. One the other hand the
CDU/CSU rejects this proposal. The same is true for the SPD‘s proposal that
employers shall pay higher contributions to the public health insurance (so that
they would have to pay the same contributions as the employees).
While this
would reduce the employees‘ payroll tax (by EUR 7.4 bn in 2018) it would
burden the employers and the public pension scheme (contributions for
pensioners) with EUR 6 bn and EUR 1.4 bn.
EU Forecast
euf:ba18h:123/nws-01