Social Disorder System Overhaul: Potential Elimination of Taboos through Reforms
The German government is embarking on a series of reforms aimed at modernizing and strengthening its social security systems, which are facing significant financial challenges. The grand coalition has established commissions to work out proposals for reforms in pensions, healthcare, long-term care, and citizens' money.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) has called for fundamental reforms, emphasizing the need for a 'new consensus on justice' to avoid burdening young people excessively with social contributions. One proposal on the table is a 'moderate, socially acceptable co-payment' for doctor visits, which could help reduce the number of doctor visits and alleviate the strain on health insurers.
Health insurers are projected to be short by at least four billion euros in the coming year, partly due to frequent doctor visits by Germans. The average German makes ten visits to the doctor per year, reaching a 'lonely European record.' To address this issue, the so-called primary care model is to be introduced to prevent 'doctor-hopping' that is costly for insurers. Patients will be required to visit their primary care physician first, and will no longer be allowed to go directly to a specialist.
The financing problem in the pension fund is also a concern. A quarter of the federal budget is currently being used to plug holes, and the situation is expected to worsen with the completion of the CSU's 'mothers' pension' and the fixation of the pension level at 48 percent until 2031. In the future, only working years may count towards the 45 years, as opposed to years of unemployment. Economists propose a moderate increase in the retirement age and the expansion of private provision as potential solutions.
The care insurance fund is also underfunded, and without reforms, contributions may increase by up to 0.2 percent as early as 2026. Discussions are taking place about abolishing the relief allowance for household help in care level 1 and instituting a waiting period for those in need of care. A mandatory supplementary insurance is also being considered as a potential reform measure for the care insurance fund.
Merz also proposes paying benefits such as rent as lump sums and combining benefits to save administrative costs. He believes that five billion euros can be saved annually in citizens' money, with potential measures including reducing benefits for 'total refusers' and reducing the disregarded assets of benefit recipients. Federal Minister of Labour Barbara Bas (SPD), who initially dismissed Merz's call to save billions in citizens' money, now agrees that those who can rely on social security are ready for reforms.
These commissions may involve breaking previous taboos in the reform process. The goal of the reforms is to make social systems future-proof without endangering social cohesion and peace. The government-initiated commission on social state reform started work in 2025 to propose modernization and digitalization measures for social benefits like housing allowance, child supplements, and basic unemployment security, aiming at faster, less bureaucratic, and more transparent processes. The specifics of the reforms can only be guessed at this point, but it is clear that Germany is committed to addressing its social security challenges head-on.
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