German Institute for Economic Research

Without this element, the pension reform is dead.

— Marcel Fratzscher, President of the DIW, said this to the Rheinische Post.

You shouldn't have to retire only when your body is breaking down.

— Anke Rehlinger, Saarland's state premier, said this in the context of the debate over scrapping the 'Rente mit 63'; she emphasizes that retirement should not be delayed until the body fails.

Under the policy demanded by the AfD, people there would lose on average around 1,600 euros per capita in income each year

— Marcel Fratzscher, president of the DIW, according to Spiegel (quote on the effects of an AfD program in Saxony-Anhalt)

The abolition of the unreduced early retirement, as proposed by the Pension Commission, is urgently needed, because it is not about whether people deserve it, but who pays for it. The unreduced early retirement benefits mainly higher-earning men; it is therefore a redistribution from the poor to the rich and is funded primarily by people who have contributed to society for many years, but who do not reach 45 years of contributions.

— DIW Chief Marcel Fratzscher, in a conversation with Münchner Merkur via Ippen.Media

Germany will feel it: something is moving. Germany is moving forward.

— Friedrich Merz, CDU/CSU politician, at the press conference following the coalition summit

Mothers with small pensions must be able to rely on what we have politically decided will apply.

— Alexander Hofmann; CSU parliamentary group leader, commenting on social justice in the pension reform

A wealth tax of two percent on large fortunes would give the German state roughly 42 billion euros in additional revenue. This would give the government the room to lower taxes on both earned income and for companies, thereby delivering an important economic impulse.

— Marcel Fratzscher, President of DIW, told the German Press Agency (dpa).

under scrutiny

— André Schleiter, labour market expert at the Bertelsmann Stiftung, said that the possibility of the penalty-free early retirement is under scrutiny.

It has always been a taboo — because Germans have a mentality of saving — that we should finally break.

— Marcel Fratzscher, DIW chief, in an interview with t-online