The German government is not planning to raise the retirement age beyond 67, said government spokesperson Ulrich Wilhelm, adding that pension levels could be maintained without upping the retirement age further.

The statement came in response to Economy Minister Michael Glos' indication in an interview with Der Spiegel news magazine published Monday that the retirement age might have to be raised again "if necessary."

Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, is set in March to add two years to the current retirement age of 65.

Glos, a member of the conservative Christian Social Union, the Bavarian sister party to Chancellor Anglea Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), called retirement at 67 "a terribly important step in stabilizing the social system" but added that he "wasn't sure if it may have to be raised again."

The country's central bank agreed with Glos, according to a report in Monday's Braunschweiger Zeitung. It "would be a mistake to give the impression the retirement age of 67 could be the end of the development," the bank said in a statement obtained by the paper.

Critics in the SPD and labor unions

Glos' comments, however, sparked protests among the labor unions, and members of the Social Democratic Party, who share power with the CDU, accused him of unnecessarily worrying citizens.

Frank Bsirske, head of the Verdi trade union said Monday in WDR radio that it was paradoxical to demand longer working time when several million people were unemployed.

The German government wants to integrate more people back into the labor market to cut the cost of the nation's graying population. Facing one of Europe's lowest birthrates, economists have warned politicians that pension and healthcare costs could skyrocket as the number of elderly Germans increases.

Jobs for welfare recipients

In the interview with Spiegel, Glos also outlined a proposal for getting long-term unemployed welfare (Hartz IV) recipients back into the workforce.

"Our idea is that every Hartz IV recipient should have to provide a return service," said Glos. "Their goal has to be to earn their income with a regular job. If their income isn't enough, then the state will step in with an allowance."

"It's about activating the people," the economy minister added. "My hope is that low-paid jobs become more attractive" and that welfare recipients will take jobs, even if they only pay slightly more than what they were receiving from the state, he said.