Renewed debate on Saxon generation fund

In Saxony, a debate about the generation fund has flared up again. It is intended to reduce future pension burdens for civil servants. The government's draft budget provides for the allocation to the fund to be reduced by 250 million euros per year. The Left Party believes this is the right thing to do. The pension fund is not an obligation, but an optional extra and could easily grow more slowly, emphasized MP Rico Gebhardt.

"Pensions are secure - civil servants don't need to worry about that. They have a legal right to their pension and have no reason to fear for their retirement benefits. Unlike most people with statutory insurance, they are well protected," said Gebhardt. Most federal states would pay pensions from the current budget. "Nobody is calling for money to be taken from the fund. Only the allocations should be reduced."

Pension fund contains almost 13 billion euros

According to Gebhardt, the civil servants' pension fund currently contains almost 13 billion euros. "That's about half a year's budget. In 2024, less than 250 million euros flowed out, while more than one billion euros was added to the fund in the same period," explained the MP. Pensions are well provided for even if this cushion grows more slowly - even if significantly more people retire in the coming years.

Several associations had commissioned a legal opinion on the subject and see their views confirmed by its findings. "Expert opinion makes it clear: generation fund is taboo for budget consolidation," was the conclusion of the Saxon Civil Servants' Association (SBB). The expenses for pension benefits due in the future would have to be saved in full and used exclusively for specific purposes.

"Our concern is that today's political decisions must not be made at the expense of future generations. Budget legislators would be well advised not to think and plan in terms of double budgets or legislative periods," explained SBB State Chairwoman Nannette Seidler. Children and grandchildren need reliable freedom to make their own decisions and shape their own lives.

Employer President Jörg Brückner referred to the situation in western German states. "There, between eight and eleven percent of state budgets are spent on pensions. Transferred to Saxony, this would mean billions in additional expenditure in the medium term - a budgetary nightmare."

Associations and AfD have constitutional concerns

"Safeguarding pensions has constitutional status in Saxony. The legislature has established this for good reason," emphasized Reinhard Schade, Chairman of the Saxon Association of Judges. The constitution therefore prohibits the improper use of money from the generation fund.

The AfD accused the government of plundering the generation fund. It shared the constitutional concerns of the civil servants' association, the teachers' association, the judges' association and the Saxon economy. Instead of jeopardizing the retirement provisions of civil servants, the government should finally learn to save money and "rigorously cut unnecessary spending on asylum, climate and left-wing associations".