Updates for transport infrastructure, pensions and basic income support

In the coalition committee, the leaders of the coalition parties - Federal Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Federal Minister of Finance Lars Klingbeil, Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas and Minister-President Markus Söder - agreed on measures relating to three important issues in particular. Hence, for example, an additional three billion euros are to be invested in the construction of new roads, active pensions will take effect on 1 January 2026, and the citizen's benefit is being replaced by the new basic income support.

"We decided all of this yesterday in a really good atmosphere. I would like to thank my colleagues for their really excellent cooperation," said Federal Chancellor Merz after the coalition committee finished.

The most important new developments are:

• Transport infrastructure: The Federal Chancellor's message is clear: "Everything that is ready to be built will be built." This applies to both rail and roads. "We will exhaust all financing options to realise this," said Merz. For construction of new roads, an additional three billion euros have been made available, with plans for a review after two years to see whether the funds are sufficient to improve the transport infrastructure.

As resolved in the coalition agreement, planning and authorisation processes are to be accelerated. There are also plans to increasingly facilitate the use of private capital in the medium term.

To support the shift to electric mobility, there will be incentive programmes that are specifically aimed at people with low and middle incomes. Three billion euros are available for this, according to the resolutions.

• Active pension: The active pension is set to take effect on 1 January 2026 and provides for people in employment to be able to earn up to 2,000 euros per month tax-free after reaching retirement age.
• Basic income support: The coalition has agreed on specific points for the reform of the citizen's benefit system, which is to be reorganised into a new basic income support scheme for job seekers. For people who are able to work, job placement should always be given priority, with the aim being to get them into work as quickly as possible. The "support and challenge" principle also applies here: anyone who does not cooperate will face harsher penalties.

The Federal Chancellor also announced that the Pensions Commission would be established before the end of the year. The Federal Government expects it to present its findings by the end of 2026.

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