Germany plans to gradually raise its retirement age beyond 67 and also abolish early retirement, as well as expand compulsory pension contributions under a set of new recommendations backed by Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Tuesday.
Germany, like many industrialized economies, is struggling with an ageing population and last year appointed an expert commission to come up with suggested reforms to its pension system.
Presenting its findings on Tuesday, the commission said the retirement age should be linked to life expectancy and gradually raised beyond 67 now.
It recommended abolishing a scheme that allows people to retire early at 63, and expanding compulsory pension contributions to include civil servants and self-employed workers.
"All elements of this reform package... must now be implemented swiftly," Merz told a press conference, adding that "we cannot afford to remove or reject individual measures."
