Due to the aging population, the German government is facing a dilemma: if the pension system is not reformed, pensions will be unsustainable. Policies to solve this dilemma include increasing the proportion of pension contributions, lowering the level of pension payments, and raising the retirement age. Among them, raising the retirement age has faced the greatest resistance, and governments that implement such a policy may lose a large number of votes in the next election. But the German government completed the legal process in 2007 to raise the retirement age from 65 to 67.
The statement 'In 2001, Germany established the upper limit of pension contributions by law, and in 2004, the lower limit of pension payment was determined. The two policies have been used to the extreme' best explains why the German government took the risk with this policy.