On 30 September 2024, the federal electoral commissioner for the social elections Peter Weiss and his deputy Doris Barnett presented the final report on the 2023 social elections to the German Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (BMAS) and formulated proposals on strengthening the self-government bodies and improving the election process. Despite the introduction of a gender quota and a successful online election pilot project, they see a need for further social election reforms in the new legislative period.
Raising social and political visibility
In essence, the self-government of the social security institutions must be enshrined in the Federal Republic of Germany’s constitutional law and more competences should be accorded to the self-government bodies. A basic knowledge of the German social security system should be taught in schools and in non-formal educational programmes. Public relations work on self-government and the social elections should be intensified.
New tasks for the self-government bodies
The federal electoral commissioners formulated specific recommendations for the current legislative period on the basis of the post-social election analyses. Those recommendations include raising awareness about the significance of the social elections and the more effective communication of the self-government bodies’ recent achievements. The lists of trade union and other employee association candidates standing for election should be clearly distinguishable in terms of content and agenda for voters. In the opinion of the federal electoral commissioner, the online election for the approved alternative health insurance funds should be more extensively rolled out. This could activate younger insured persons in particular and increase overall participation in the 2029 social elections.
“If the self-government of the social insurance institutions were enshrined in constitutional law, the German Pension Insurance would be better protected against state intervention and budgetary policy-motivated cost reallocations.”
Alternating Chair of the Federal Board of Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund
Social elections
The social elections are the third largest elections in Germany after the parliamentary elections and the European elections. They are held every six years. Insured persons, pensioners and employers are elected to the self-government bodies of the pension insurance institutions on an honorary basis. The elected individuals are involved in the decision processes of social insurance schemes they finance, especially they have a say in how their contributions are spent. Social elections have been an integral part of German democracy for 70 years. The next social elections will take place in 2029.
