Here is what the major German political parties want...
SPD (Social Democratic Party)
- Asylum Procedures: Accelerate asylum decisions to within six months. Current BAMF processing averages 8.7 months (2024).
- Citizen's Allowance: Retain the citizens' allowance.
- Unemployment: Expand state-subsidized work programs for the unemployed. The SPD aims to make employment more appealing by setting a minimum wage of 15 euros by 2026.
- Pension: The SPD aims to secure a pension level of at least 48%. It opposes cuts or increases to the retirement age. SPD wants to make company pensions more attractive via tax incentives, especially for low earners.
CDU/CSU (Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union)
- Asylum Procedures: Proposes an "immediate de facto admission freeze" by turning back asylum seekers at German borders, extending current border controls, though legal feasibility under EU law is questioned.
- Deportations: Supports regular deportations to Afghanistan and Syria, especially for criminals, and outsourcing asylum procedures to non-EU countries.
- Quotas and Citizenship: Favors an annual refugee quota (size unspecified) and opposes quick naturalization (after three years) and dual citizenship, aiming to reverse recent reforms.
- Citizen's allowance: Abolish "Citizen's allowance" in favor of a "new basic security" system. This would impose stricter requirements, reform additional income limits to encourage work, and exclude those who refuse to work from being considered needy.
- Pension: Keep the current retirement age regulations while introducing an "active pension." The "Active pension" will allow individuals who work past retirement age to earn up to 2,000 euros monthly tax-free. They also propose creating an "early start pension" scheme. In this scheme, the state will pay ten euros per month into a personal, funded retirement savings account for young people (6- to 18-year-olds).
AfD (Alternative for Germany)
- Remigration: This policy emphasizes "consistent deportations" and naturalization only after ten years of "best integration performance."
- Deportations: Targets revoking Syrian protection status and pressuring countries to take back citizens.
- Citizenship: Seeks to limit asylum rights, abolish family reunification, and restrict citizenship.
- Citizen's allowance: Proposed mandatory community service for employable recipients after six months. Foreigners will be eligible for citizen's allowance after ten years of work and social security contributions in Germany.
- Pension: The AfD targets a 70% pension level of the last net salary. They propose that politicians pay into the public pension system, reduce civil servant positions, and replace them with pension-contributing employees.
NOTE: The German social security system, especially pensions and health care, is under pressure due to demographic change and poor economic growth. So, you should save for your retirement. The sooner you start, the better.
Here is what experts propose to save for your retirement
As per experts, you should save around 20% of your net salary every month to supplement your public pension. If you are self-employed and don't contribute to a public pension, you should increase the saving rate to 25%.
The goal is that when you retire, you will have around 80% of your last income (including the state pension). Why 80%? It's simple: you won't need to save the 20% anymore.
The 20% and 25% savings rates are not always accurate. Your age, income, and current savings also affect how much you must start saving to secure retirement funds. However, it's a good starting point.
You can open a daily savings account* (save 5%) and ETF savings plan (save 15%). The saved amount in the daily savings account will help you build your emergency fund and later act as a sum to cover unexpected big expenses.
You won't touch your ETF savings plan until you retire (ideally 30 to 40 years). This will give your investments enough time to grow and compound interest to work.
You can open a free trading account with Finanzen.net Zero* and Scalable Capital*.
News
- Verdi calls for strikes: Verdi is a workers' union for people working in the public sector. It has called for strikes at airports and local public transport. They demand an 8% salary raise with a minimum of 350€ raise. In addition, Verdi demands bonuses or a 13th-month salary for the workers. Lastly, more holidays.
- Europe needs more soldiers and budget to protect its borders: If the USA withdraws its army, Europe requires 300,000 more soldiers and an additional 250 billion euros annually (as per the Kiel Institute for the World Economy) to protect its border.
- A new study shows that an increase in immigrants has no relation to an increase in the crime rate. You can read the complete report here.
Community Shoutouts! 📣
- We partnered with a new law firm to offer you legal advice on immigration, visa, and German citizenship.
- We are working on a new course to explain "Untätigkeitsklage" and how you can file it yourself. If a government office is not working on your application in a timely manner, "Untätigkeitsklage" is a tool provided to you by German law to exercise your right. It applies in all situations, from renewing your visa and citizenship application to any other bureaucratic work.
- Berlin's Karnival der Kulturen will start on June 6. The parade will begin at Proskauer Straße and finish at Berolinastraße, near Alexanderplatz. There will also be a street festival around Blücherplatz. Read more here.
Whether it's a must-visit place, a life hack, or an inspiring story, we’d love to hear from you.
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