++ Information session in the evening, 18.09.24: Promotion of company pensions ++

The federal government will make company pensions more attractive with a new law. This is according to a draft that the federal cabinet has approved. Companies will be given incentives to offer company pensions to more employees. To date, only around 54 percent of all employees subject to social insurance contributions in Germany have had a company pension. According to the Federal Ministry of Labor, there are still gaps here, particularly among smaller companies and low-earners, which the new law is intended to close.

Income limits for funding to increase

The changes include, among other things, raising the income limit for employee subsidies for company pensions from EUR 2,575 to EUR 2,718 gross per month. This means that employers will benefit from tax relief up to this wage limit if they add an amount to their employees’ company pensions. The amount up to which companies can receive state subsidies will also rise from EUR 960 to EUR 1,200. The increase is intended to ensure that employees do not fall out of subsidies due to wage increases. According to the draft, the income limits will also be automatically adjusted to wage developments in the future.

First government statement by RLP Prime Minister Schweitzer

More German language support for children, more money for local authorities and an acceleration of digitalization and the reduction of bureaucracy: these are some of the priorities that Rhineland-Palatinate Prime Minister Alexander Schweitzer wants to set in his work. He made his first government statement in the state parliament in Mainz. The SPD politician will also promote the industrial location, climate protection, reconstruction in the Ahr Valley and integration.

Schweitzer is committed to an open Europe

“One thing is certain: our asylum system must be improved. There are too many gaps,” said the 51-year-old from the Palatinate. The federal government is relying on temporary border controls, among other things. But with a view to prosperity, the borders should not be closed, stressed Schweitzer, who expressly declared his support for a free and open Europe. “Humanity and order are the goals we are pursuing in the asylum debate,” stressed Schweitzer. “I will always fight against minorities being discriminated against because of their origins.”