In the middle of the coalition negotiations, economists have spoken out in favor of a higher retirement age.

In order to stabilize the statutory pension insurance in the long term, the retirement age should be raised from 2031 and linked to the development of further life expectancy, according to a study presented on Tuesday by the scientific advisory board of the Kronberger Kreis Foundation's Market Economy Foundation.

One of its members is the former chairman of the “Wirtschaftsweise”, Lars Feld.

There should be an automatic link between the retirement age and future life expectancy, said Berthold Wigger from the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

The gradual increase in the retirement age to 67 will not be sufficient for the foreseeable future to compensate for additional burdens due to demographic change.

The pressure to reform will increase significantly in the coming years when the so-called baby boomers retire.

He did not say exactly how high the entry age should increase.

In the summer, proposals by the Scientific Advisory Board at the Federal Ministry of Economics about a reform towards the retirement age at 68 caused a lot of excitement.

According to the current legal situation, the age limit for the pension without deductions will be gradually increased from 65 to 67 years until 2029.

Feld criticizes “slipping through” in social policy

Feld criticized the previous announcements by the SPD, FDP and the Greens, which are negotiating a new government, as insufficient for the future of the social systems.

He had the impression that there was a "slacking off" in social policy.

The three parties had stated in their exploratory paper that there would be no increase in the statutory retirement age.

It was also said that the pension insurance should be partially funded.

The Kronberger Kreis also called for the so-called catch-up factor to be reinstated in the pension formula - as a short-term effective measure to curb expenditure increases.

After a pension zero round this year against the background of the Corona crisis, pensioners can expect to see rising salaries in the coming year.

Feld expects an increase of 5.5 percent.

If the catch-up factor were reinstated, there would be increases of around 2.5 percent.

The Kronberger Kreis is an association of economically liberal university professors.