The chairwoman of the “Economic Wise Men”, Monika Schnitzer, had called for particularly high pensions to be reduced in the future and the retirement age to be raised. The economist is now receiving severe criticism for this.

The proposals of the economist Monika Schnitzer for a comprehensive reform of the pension system cause discussions. “A reduction in pensions is out of the question,” says the socio-political spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Pascal Kober, “t-online”. “People have paid for it throughout their working lives.” Among other things, Schnitzer had demanded that, in order to stabilize the pension system, particularly high pensions should be melted down in the future.

The CDU pension expert Kai Whittaker agrees with the economist Schnitzer that all available adjustment screws must be turned. “Just retiring later and paying more will not be enough,” says the opposition politician “t-online”.

In an interview with t-online, the general manager of the Paritätischer Gesamtverband, Ulrich Schneider, describes the proposals made by economist Schnitzer as “unspeakable and downright indecent”. For many people in physically demanding jobs, a longer working life actually means a reduction in pensions. Among other things, Schnitzer had called for an increase in the retirement age.