German central bank suggests raising retirement age to 69

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

German central bank suggests raising retirement age to 69

Updated 4:55 pm, Monday, August 15, 2016

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's central bank is arguing that the country's retirement age should ultimately be lifted another two years to 69, a call that received a frosty response from the government.

The government decided a decade ago to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67. The increase is being introduced gradually and will apply to all retirees by 2029.

Since then, there have been periodic calls for people in Europe's biggest economy to work even longer. In its monthly report Monday, the Bundesbank said consideration should be given to raising the retirement age to around 69 by 2060 to make sure the pension system is viable as the population ages.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesman, Steffen Seibert, said that the government "stands by retirement at 67."



Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/world/article/German-central-bank-suggests-raising-retirement-9143107.php

[groundloop]

1. Just like here, work 'til you die

How many people are going to have any significant quality years to enjoy themselves if they work until age 69 (67 is pretty much just as bad)? That's what you get when you let bankers make decisions that effect people's quality of life.

[Demobrat]

5. How many people are going to have jobs

until they're 69?

[cstanleytech]

7. Well most of them like my brother will probably have to since their jobs simply dont pay enough now

to barely even pay their bills let alone save for a retirement and he works for one of the better retailers.
Mind you I doubt he will be doing his current job when hes 69 as it involves alot of heavy lifting currently.

[socialist_n_TN]

14. Exactly. The owners already look to get rid of you at 55...........

Leaving you 7 (early SS) to 11 years away from Social Security. Most people can't afford to live that long without any sort of good job, so they go through any savings they might have just surviving, then live a miserable existence, IF THEY'RE LUCKY, on a totally inadequate social security check. Then Medicare Part B, IF you live to 65, takes 10% or so of that inadequate check for doctors.

It's a rigged game that most people are forced to cope with. Capitalism's way of regaining any sort of savings that most of us have. I want to change this by any means necessary. That's why I'm a Trotskyist.

[Matthew Rose]

2. Laborers should have a lower retirement age.

[saidsimplesimon]

3. No good deed goes unpunished?

Madame Merkel has opened the doors of Germany to those tired and weary of exile and violence. Her reward, a right wingnut attack from fellow citizens.

I still work nearing 70 years old. The work is more fulfilling as I no longer have any masters.

[7962]

6. She has also opened the doors to those who bring violence,

misogyny, rape, female genital mutilation, terrorism, demands for "special" treatment, etc

And she will be OUT of office because of her naiveté

[Sherman A1]

4. Pardon me for a moment.

[sarcasmo]

8. Who's going to hire you @ age 60-69?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

11. The same people who will hire you at age 50-59.

"Welcome to Walmart."

[sarcasmo]

17. Starting your own business to put food on the table @ age 65.

[Judi Lynn]

9. Let bankers who sit on their fat backsides continue to "work" until 69,

let those who have done the vital, backbreaking work which keeps things moving in their country the chance to rest, and catch their breaths, please!

[PaddyIrishman]

19. Precisely

We had a similar report in Ireland a few weeks ago.

I guarantee you that not one person who contributed to either report has to carry a brick, climb a ladder, cook a meal or work on an assembly line for a living.

if they did, they mightn't be so eager to keep people working until 69.

[MrScorpio]

10. Bankers. No matter where they are, they're assholes. nt

[Javaman]

12. this just in: age of retirement raised to time of death. nt

[The2ndWheel]

13. Something will have to give somewhere

Just too many changes from the time when retirement as we know it was first introduced. People live longer on average. Industrialized countries don't have growing populations, other than getting more people from developing countries, which hurts developing countries. Jobs can increasingly be done anywhere, by anyone. Plus automation is doing nothing but growing.

There's no easy answer. I know, we can tax the rich, but that works until they figure how to not get taxed. Should be an interesting century.

[whatthehey]

18. Nobody wants to think about that

The glorious days of comfortable retirements had a burgeoning population of new labor force entrants supporting SSI and a culture which essentially closed most occupations off from women. People complaining about the LFPR always start from the late 70s, ignoring the much lower rates prior to that before working women became the norm.

[yellowcanine]

15. Easy for a bunch of pencil pushers to say.

Not so easy for a blue collar worker to push off retirement to 69.

[hunter]

16. We ought to be paying people of any age to take a creative "retirement."

A comfortable small room, healthy food, free birth control, and appropriate medical care.

Working hard is bad for the environment. Society ought to be encouraging people to discover low energy satisfying lifestyles with minimal environmental impacts.

What we now call "economic productivity" is a direct measure of the damage we are doing to the earth's natural environment and our own human spirit.

Of course bankers don't get it. Their income increases as money streams they control increase. The more money flowing through the system, the more money the bankers and other financial people get.

Expanding economies of the sort we now have are not good things. Shrinking the human population and shrinking our current high energy industrial economy ought to be our goal. If we humans can't arrange that in some comfortable and creative way, then nature will arrange for it in her usual ugly and violent way.

Here on earth, here in reality, exponential growth always ends poorly. This earth has seen many innovative species come and go. We are not the first, nor will we be the last.