GERMANY - Professor Bert Rürup, a leading pension expert and government economic adviser, has urged German MPs to cut their pensions to show solidarity with working Germans whose pensions are already being reduced.

"Of course, one cannot compare the pension system for MPs and civil servants with the state pension scheme. But fairness dictates that if state pension scheme is reducing benefits, the systems for MPs and civil servants should follow suit," Rürup said.

Rürup's call comes amid a study by a lobby for German taxpayers suggesting the monthly pension for German MPs has risen 6.5% since 2000. As a result, the highest benefit for an MP is currently €4836 per month and the lowest €2103.

In contrast, the maximum benefit for a German employee will be reduced to 43% of monthly salary by 2030, following government pension reforms, compared with around 50% now. And to qualify for the maximum benefit, an employee will have had to work until the age of 67 instead of 65 previously, and have paid into the system for 45 years.

"In view of these contradictory events it's clear that we need a thorough reform of pensions for MPs," said Karl Heinz Däke, president of the lobby for German taxpayers.

Contacted by IPE, the administration of Germany's Bundestag, or lower house of parliament, could not immediately verify the figures released by the lobby. Spokesmen for the Conservatives and Social Democrats, which govern in a coalition, were also not available for comment.

This is not the first time Rürup, the architect of the government's 2004 pension reforms, has come out in support of cutting civil service pensions. In May 2005, he called for a reduction in benefits for civil servants by one-sixth amid reports those benefits had risen sharply.
At the time, the German Association of Civil Servants (dbb) said Rürup's call was a moot point, as the government had already moved to reduce their members' pensions. Indeed, the maximum benefit for a civil servant was reduced to 71.5% of previous salary.

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