German Music Council fights for pensions

Resistance to the criteria formulated in the draft bill on the basic pension has formed among federal cultural associations, even if the law is welcomed in principle. For example, the Federal Association of Visual Artists has written an appeal with 45,000 signatories to the federal government, members of parliament and the Federal Council, which is also supported by the Alliance of Liberal Arts.

According to Martin Maria Krüger, President of the German Music Council, creative professionals insured through the Artists' Social Security Fund (KSK) often do not even earn the required 30 percent of the average income that would be necessary to receive the basic pension according to the draft law, despite many years of highly qualified and enormously committed work.

For example, 20,000 artists are currently excluded from the basic pension because their income is too low. In turn, private pension provision is unaffordable for this professional group: a vicious circle of poverty.

The Music Council therefore appeals to the Bundestag to make improvements in the upcoming deliberations on the draft bill and to adjust the minimum income required for the basic pension downwards to 20 percent of the average income, in line with the situation of many creative professionals.