A preliminary version of a keenly awaited report on reform to the German pension system seen by dpa on Monday proposes raising the minimum pensionable age to 64.
To date, many people have made use of the option of taking a reduced pension at 63 after 35 years of contributions.
The commission's report recommends that the minimum age should subsequently rise in line with the statutory retirement age, amid longstanding concerns over funding for the German pension system.
This point is separate from taking the state pension at 63 after 45 years of contributions without reduction, which the report recommends abolishing.
A proportion of the contributions should be invested in the stock exchange, with the commission proposing 2% of gross pay rising from an initial 0.5% , with half paid each by the employer and employee.
Under current rules, the legal pensionable age is to rise to 67 by 2031. The commission recommends that this should rise by six months every decade.
It further recommends that the self-employed should pay into the state pension fund where they are not insured by virtue of their profession. People currently self-employed will be allowed to opt out.
Politicians at federal and state level should in future make contributions to the state scheme. Civil servants will not be drawn into the state pension system, but the level of their pensions should be reduced. The civil service should also be cut back, in the commission's view.
The pension replacement rate should be set at 48% by 2031, with a sustainability factor curbing the annual increase in pensions.
Without reform, contributions are expected to rise from 18.6% currently to 19.9% in 2028. This will remain unchanged.
German trade unions and leftist politicians expressed criticism of the rise in the pensionable age. The employers' association backed parts of the report but called for greater ambition.
