Police, justice, the finance administration and teachers would remain civil servants, according to Manuela Schwesig, while fewer new hires would receive civil servant status overall.
The state audit office put the payment obligations for future pensions of state civil servants at almost 10 billion euros at the end of 2025, and the figure is still rising.
About 7,000 state employees are due to retire within five years, and 1,000 of those posts will not be refilled, which Schwesig says would save roughly 125 million euros a year.
One account gives a financing gap of more than 3 billion euros for 2028 to 2030, while another puts the budget hole at one billion euros from 2028.
Negotiators from the SPD, the Left and the Greens presented interim results from their coalition talks at Schwerin Castle on Friday evening, 16 October. The talks had begun on Monday, 12 October, and the parties aim to finish a coalition agreement within three weeks. The first agreed change narrows the route into civil service status, so the state would appoint civil servants only where it exercises sovereign powers.
The coalition named police, justice, the finance administration and teachers as the areas that remain civil servants. The Basic Law's Article 33 says sovereign powers are generally exercised by people in public-law service relationships, and the wording 'as a rule' leaves room for borderline cases.
“We want to appoint civil servants in the future only where the state performs sovereign tasks.”
Schwesig said a civil servant appointment is a commitment that lasts for decades. She added that the state already sets aside money for future pensions, and that this is where savings are possible.
The state audit office (Landesrechnungshof) put the payment obligations for future pensions of state civil servants at almost 10 billion euros at the end of 2025, with the figure still rising in the coming years. Earlier audit office figures show more civil servants than salaried employees now on the state payroll. The audit office expects growing payments from the 2030s, when many teachers and other civil servants retire.
Figures for the shortfall differ. One account gives a financing gap of more than 3 billion euros for 2028 to 2030, while another puts the budget hole at one billion euros from 2028.
About 7,000 state employees are due to retire within five years, and 1,000 of those posts will not be refilled. Schwesig put the saving at roughly 125 million euros a year and linked the cuts to bureaucracy reduction, digitisation and artificial intelligence.
Data from the article text
“Saving starts with the state itself, not first with the people.”
Claudia Müller framed the approach as a question of long-term responsibility for future generations, arguing that the same logic applies to the budget and to climate protection.
“Prevention is better than cure, prevention is cheaper than repair.”
The partners plan to invest over the next five years in affordable housing and artificial intelligence. Municipal housing companies should continue to be freed from their GDR-era legacy debts, and a government commission will examine the opportunities and risks of AI, including in state administration, according to Left parliamentary group leader Hennis Herbst.
A new state development bank is also planned. The state currently has about 300 funding programmes and around 30 contact points, and Schwesig said the bank should offer a single contact point with at most 200 programmes and low-interest loans. The SPD had already included the bank in its election programme.
The agreement also foresees a higher inheritance tax to raise revenue, and the state government would push for the reintroduction of the wealth tax. The coalition agreement is due within three weeks of the first results.
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Negotiators from the SPD, the Left and the Greens agreed to limit civil service appointments to four areas and to leave about 1,000 state posts unfilled. The parties say the moves would save roughly 125 million euros.
AI text based on reports by Berliner Zeitung, Spiegel Online, Norddeutscher Rundfunk and other publishers. Published .