Recasting Pensions in Europe: Policy Challenges and Political Strategies to Pass Reforms

Reform narratives and argumentative coupling in German pension policy: constructing the ‘deserving retiree’

“…The first was the pension-reform package of 2014, which improved the mother's pension and options to receive a full pension at age 63. This reform has been rated a partial reversal of German pension policy (Natali, 2018). The second was the failed attempt at introducing some form of minimum-pension scheme in two successive legislative periods.…”

“…German pension policy can be considered an important case for studying narratives and argumentative coupling. Paradigmatically new solutions were implemented in that area in the early 2000s, whichduring the investigated period (2009-2017)came under pressure for several reasons (Section 4.1) and even led to partial policy reversal (Natali, 2018). The investigated period is thus particularly prone to study re-definition of narratives and the argumentative construction of new reform narratives.…”

“…Not least, theespecially futureproblem of old-age poverty was ascribed to the early 2000s pension reforms, as those had reduced public pension levels and made the private provision quasi-compulsory, but not affordable for all. Moreover, the private saving schemes with their dependence on capital-market developments came under pressure in times of zero-rate interest policy and low returns of insurance companies (Natali, 2018;Schmähl, 2011); as early as 2004, the SPD, e.g. had already departed from its enthusiasm for the private pension (Friedrich, 2015).…”

“…under pressure. The paradigmatically new solutions (Lamping & Rüb, 2004;Schmähl, 2011) were, at least partly, reversed (Natali, 2018) and deconstructed again (Blum, 2019). Those more recent policy processes have received little research attention so far.…”

Germany

“…Effecting a partial marketisation of the pension system (Hagen and Kleinlein 2011), this reform has been hailed as introducing 'fundamental changes which have overhauled basic policy ideas' (Rüb and Lamping 2010: 144). Over the following years, further changes were introduced to indexation, care credits, legislated pensionable age, pension options for self-employed and those with a long history of contributions to pension insurance (Brussig et al 2016;Frericks et al 2008;Natali 2018). Most importantly, in 2007, the legislated pensionable age was raised progressively from 65 to 67 years by 2032 and a penalty free option to retire at 65 was introduced for the long-term insured (Brussig et al 2016).…”