The government of Elisabeth Borne will present its pension reform bill on Tuesday, January 10. Since the creation of old-age insurance in 1945, successive reforms have gradually raised the legal retirement age and increased the number of years worked to access a full pension.
► 1945: creation of old-age insurance
In 1945, with Social Security, a mandatory pay-as-you-go old-age insurance was created for all employees, based on the contribution of active workers to pay the pensions of retirees. Forty-two schemes are developed according to socio-professional criteria.
The amount of the pension is calculated on the basis of income from previous activity, according to the contributions paid during working life. This system is accompanied by a principle of solidarity according to which workers who have experienced periods of “gap” in their professional life will be able to benefit from non-contributory retirement benefits.
► 1956: creation of a minimum old age
The first modification of the pension system took place in 1956, with the introduction of the automobile vignette, an annual tax on vehicles in circulation intended to feed the National Solidarity Fund (FNS), to guarantee a minimum income for people aged over 65. It results in the purchase of a sticker to stick on the windshield. Certain professions with specific schemes join the general scheme.
► 1967: creation of four branches of social security
In 1967, the Jeanneney ordinances aimed at separating the risks of the system, reorganized Social Security into four branches. The national health insurance fund (Cnam), the national old-age insurance fund (Cnav), the national family allowance fund (Cnaf) and the AT-MP branch (accidents at work and occupational diseases) were created.
► 1971: transition to 150 quarters worked
Four years later, in 1971, the Boulin law increased from 120 quarters (30 years) to 150 (37.5 years) the contribution period giving right to a full pension, on the basis of the ten best years of salary. (and not the last ten as was the case so far).
The law also creates a system dedicated to mothers, in the form of an old-age allowance for stay-at-home mothers. Concretely, it makes it possible to validate periods of professional inactivity for retirement and to increase the duration of insurance for children. The following year, the first early retirement scheme was put in place to guarantee the financing of a replacement income for people aged over 60.
► 1982: retirement at age 60
In 1982, after François Mitterrand came to power, the Auroux ordinances lowered the legal retirement age to 60 for people who had worked for 150 quarters, or 37.5 years of contribution. This reform also creates a discount to compensate for the quarters of contribution missing to reach the 150 quarters required.
► From 1993 to 2013: gradual extension of the contribution period
In 1993, when the public coffers showed an unprecedented deficit, Prime Minister Édouard Balladur introduced the passage from 150 quarters to 160 quarters worked, or 40 years, in order to be able to receive a full pension. The text of the law also increases the reference career length from the best ten years to the best 25 years, and retirement pensions are aligned with inflation and no longer with salary increases.
In 1995, Alain Juppé tried to reform the civil service schemes to bring them closer to the private scheme. Despite the vote on his plan in Parliament, a movement of massive strikes lasting several weeks paralyzed the country, forcing it to backtrack.
In 2003, the Fillon reform carried out under the aegis of the new Minister of Labor generalized the discount for civil servants for the missing years and established a gradual transition of all schemes, except special ones, towards 42 years of contribution. This reform also aligns the contribution period of civil servants with that of private sector employees: from 37 and a half to 40 years by 2008.
Under the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, the contribution period increases again from 37.5 years to 40 years, until 2012. In 2012, the legal retirement age is pushed back from 60 to 62 years and the age at which the discount can be canceled is increased from 65 to 67 years old.
Three years after the previous reform, that of 2013 led by the Minister of Health Marisol Touraine provides for the gradual increase of the contribution reference period up to 43 annuities. New to this reform, it introduces the concept of “difficulty”, through the creation of a “personal account for the prevention of arduousness”, financed by companies and intended for any employee in the private sector exposed to a factor of arduousness.
► 2019: failure of systemic reform
During his first term, Emmanuel Macron initiated a reform of the pension system, to move from a pay-as-you-go system to a points system, while merging the 42 existing schemes into one. This project came up against the massive mobilizations in December 2019 and then the health crisis, which suspended the progress of the discussions.