Social Policy for All Generations

The timing for the social policy panel at the 2026 Caritas Congress in Berlin could hardly have been better: 48 hours after the Pension Security Commission presented its final report, and just before the legislative process to implement it begins. 

There are many areas in need of reform within the social security systems—yet Johannes Winkel of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group in the Bundestag expressed optimism that it will be possible to find solutions that are sustainable across generations. The German Caritas Association praised the strong first pillar but at the same time called for better protection in the event of incapacity to work during longer working lives, as Eva Welskop-Deffaa emphasized. Overall, how we treat vulnerable groups determines how seriously we take the concept of a strong welfare state. Questions of trust and justice must be addressed here, as our Siegen-based ethicist Dr. Anna Karger-Kroll pointed out. Prof. Wolfgang Schröder raised the question of social spaces where encounters among all population groups become a social asset, and immediately offered an answer: even subsidies for village pubs can contribute to a future-proof sense of community.