Economist Martin Werding has proposed increasing penalties for early retirement in Germany, suggesting that the current reduction of 3.6% per year is too low.

Individuals can retire at 63 but must accept these deductions unless they have 45 years of contributions, which allows for penalty-free retirement.

Werding argues that with the ongoing shortage of skilled workers, completely penalty-free early retirement for healthy individuals earning average to above-average salaries is not feasible.

He recommends increasing the penalties to between 5% and 6% per year to better reflect the economic landscape.

This proposal aims to address the challenges posed by the aging workforce and the need for skilled labor in the country.