With the approval of the government, the Senate voted Thursday, March 9 in favor of an improved pension for mothers leaving at the legal retirement age, but having accumulated the required annuities from a year before. During the examination of the government reform project, the senators adopted by 280 votes for (and 64 abstentions) a proposal coming from the right and the centrists for a “surcharge” pension of up to 5% for women who exceed the required forty-three annuities, under the effect of the quarters granted for their maternity and the education of the children. “This will affect 30% of women in a generation” either “130,000 people” per year, announced rapporteur René-Paul Savary (LR).
In detail, a bonus of 1.25% per additional quarter of contribution will be granted to those who exceed forty-three annuities one year before the legal retirement age, with at least one quarter of increase for maternity or education of children.
” Red line “
The measure, valued at 300 million euros, will ” in the right direction “, according to the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt. He recalled that the maternity and childrearing terms were created when women interrupted their careers more often, and that they become “less useful”even if they have to stay.
The left has expressed its reservations, because the premium will not compensate for the “brutality” raising the legal age from 62 to 64. “It makes women lose a little less than expected”conceded the ecologist Mélanie Vogel. “Wage and pension inequalities are not resolved” between women and men, remarked socialist Michelle Meunier. Women’s pensions are currently 40% below those of men, a difference reduced to 28% with survivors’ pensions.
While the executive seeks the support of the right on all of its highly contested reform, the leader of the Republican senators, Bruno Retailleau, recalled that his group had made this measure “a real red line”.
The amendment was given priority consideration on Thursday, which caused the left to jump, deprived of the defense of a series of amendments to delete Article 8 of the bill. The senatorial right seeks to speed up the debates, more than a thousand amendments remaining on the menu until Sunday.