This week, new rules for Germany’s roughly seven million Minijobbers will come into force — but they stop well short of the sweeping transformation the government’s pension commission has proposed. Starting Wednesday, the earnings threshold for low-paid work stays at €603 a month, but workers now have the option to reverse their previous opt-out from the statutory pension insurance system. For someone earning exactly €603, that means paying around €22 in employee contributions out of pocket each month.
The adjustment comes as part of a much broader reform package that has yet to be enacted. Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Labour Minister Andrea Bas have both signalled support for the 33 recommendations released Friday by Germany’s pension commission. The centrepiece: ending the social-insurance exemption that currently defines Minijobs. Only schoolchildren would remain excluded. “Politics has delayed necessary adjustments for decades,” Martin Werding, a member of the Council of Economic Experts, said on Friday. “Now action is required.”
At present, nearly 80 percent of Minijobholders choose to exempt themselves from the pension system. Critics argue that this creates a pension gap that disproportionately hits women and fuels old-age poverty. The Social Welfare Association of Germany (SoVD) described Minijobs as a “trap.” The Institute for Employment Research (IAB), however, sees an opportunity for workers to build up their own pension claims if the system is overhauled.
Business groups are pushing back hard. The Mittelstands- und Wirtschaftsunion (a lobby for small and medium-sized enterprises) warned Friday that abolishing the €520 threshold would worsen labour shortages in hospitality, tourism and retail. In the Saarland, half of the 20,000 people employed in the hospitality sector hold a Minijob. Nationwide, some 873,000 Minijobs exist in that branch alone. Farmers, too, fear losing a flexible staffing tool.
Unions see it differently. The Food, Beverages and Catering Union (NGG) backs the reform, noting that Minijobbers have no access to short-time work benefits and lack crisis protection. On Sunday, the German Trade Union Federation (DGB) also called for an end to social-insurance exemption, though it rejected the idea of a retirement age of 70.
Meanwhile, the broader debate over the future of Minijobs remains unresolved. Alongside the smaller changes taking effect this week, the statutory pension will rise by 4.24 percent, and the allowance for widows’ pensions will increase to €1,122.53 per month. But the coalition has yet to schedule a vote on the commission’s main proposals, and business resistance is intense.
