68% of Germans oppose scrapping Rente mit 63 as coalition and unions rebel against pension reform

Poll findings

An Insa poll of 1,005 representative respondents, conducted on 6 and 7 August 2026 for Bild am Sonntag, reveals sweeping opposition to the federal government's pension reform plans. 68% of those surveyed oppose abolishing the deduction-free pension after 45 contribution years, while only 24% support the move and 8% gave no answer. The issue is personally relevant for many: 56% said they have used or intend to use the Rente mit 63, with 32% saying they would not and 12% giving no response. Overall satisfaction with the government's pension policy is low, at 77% dissatisfied and only 16% satisfied.

What the reform entails

The so-called Rente mit 63 is misleadingly named. Workers who accumulate 45 contributory years can retire before the standard retirement age of 67 without deductions, though the effective access age has already risen to about 64.5 years and is set to climb gradually to 65. The abolition is part of a broader package from the Alterssicherungskommission, which submitted 33 recommendations to the federal government on 23 June 2026. Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) called the project one of the most difficult reform undertakings of our time, and together with Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) pledged to implement all 33 recommendations.

A second pillar of the reform would require Minijobbers to pay social contributions for the first time, covering pension, health and care insurance. The poll found 61% oppose this measure, 30% support it, and 9% expressed no opinion. Exceptions for school pupils are under consideration.

Coalition rebellion

That pledge to implement all 33 recommendations has not held for six weeks. The three east German CDU state premiers, Michael Kretschmer (Saxony), Sven Schulze (Saxony-Anhalt) and Mario Voigt (Thuringia), are demanding the Rente mit 63 be retained. They argue that abolition would hit east Germany particularly hard because many retirees there rely solely on the statutory pension. SPD state premiers Dietmar Woidke (Brandenburg) and Manuela Schwesig (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) have expressed similar positions.

Insa chief Hermann Binkert told Bild that the governing parties have so far failed to convince the public of the planned pension reform.

Den Regierungsparteien ist es bisher nicht gelungen, die Bevölkerung von der geplanten Rentenreform zu überzeugen. So bekommt man die dramatisch schlechte Stimmung nicht gedreht.

Union backlash

Trade union leaders have joined the opposition. Verdi chief Frank Werneke told Bild am Sonntag that it is encouraging more state premiers recognise the commission's proposal to abolish the deduction-free pension after 45 insurance years is wrong. IG Metall federal chair Christiane Benner called the rule just, suggesting sceptics visit a blast furnace, shipyard or assembly line to understand. DGB board member Anja Piel said people who entered training early and worked nearly half a century should not be squeezed like a lemon at the end of their working lives. Robert Feiger, head of the industrial union Bauen-Agrar-Umwelt, said someone who has worked and paid contributions for 45 years has earned deduction-free retirement.

Government defenders

Not everyone in the coalition is wavering. CDU Mittelstand leader Gitta Connemann insisted the Union will hold to the plan.

Das Rentenpaket ist kein Buffet. Man kann sich nicht nur nehmen, was einem schmeckt. Der Kompromiss ist hart erarbeitet worden. Wer ihn jetzt zerpflückt, bekommt am Ende gar keine Reform. Das schadet allen Generationen.

The political backdrop is grim for the governing parties. In the current Deutschlandtrend poll by Infratest dimap, the Union stands at 21% and the SPD at 12%, giving the coalition 33% combined, far short of a majority. The AfD leads with 28%.