2023-09-01 06:32:07
After 175 hours of passionate debate in Parliament and a motion of censure rejected by nine votes, weeks of social protest marked by 14 demonstrations and around fifteen decrees published during the summer, the pension reform comes into force this Friday September 1st.
First effect: those born after September 1, 1961 will have to wait three additional months to retire. The minimum legal retirement age will then gradually increase by three months per year, up to 64 years for the 1968 generation. At the same time, the period of contribution necessary for a full pension will increase by one quarter per year (up to 172 quarters for the 1965 generation).
As soon as the reform was announced, Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne stressed that this effort required of employees would be offset by “social progress”. A revaluation of pensions was notably promised. With two scenarios: current retirees and those who leave from this Friday.
A minimum pension of €1,200 rather than €1,100
For the latter, Elisabeth Borne had notably assured that those “who have contributed all their life with income around the minimum wage will now leave with a pension of 85% of the net minimum wage, i.e. an increase of €100 per month”. “It’s nearly €1,200 per month from this year”, she insisted.
The application decrees published in August do provide for a revaluation of €100 of the minimum contribution, which will thus increase to €848 per month. « Eapproximately 200,000 new retirees » should benefit from this revaluation each year, “i.e. approximately one out of four departures”, oversees the Ministry of Labor.
The impact study of the reform was a little less optimistic, giving 180,000 retirees benefiting from an average revaluation of €33 per month. We must indeed take into account those who do not have a full career. “A large third will have a revaluation greater than 70 €”, added the Minister of Labour, Olivier Dussopt, during the debates. According to the figures he provided, just over 13,000 retirees from the 1962 generation were to receive an additional €100; about 40,000 for the 1972 generation.
An increase also for current retirees
As for the minimum pension at 85% of the minimum wage, things will also be a little more complex. To arrive at the €1,200 promised, the government is indeed counting the supplementary pension, estimated by Olivier Dussopt at €313 on average for a full career. However, Agirc-Arrco, which manages supplementary pensions for private sector employees, expects €255. The minimum monthly pension would thus be €1,102 (compared to €1,171 for 85% of the net minimum wage).
For current retirees, the revaluation will be made in proportion to the quarters contributed. According to the impact study, 1.7 to 1.8 million retirees would be affected by an increase of between €60 and €70 per month. The National Old-Age Insurance Fund (Cnav) will only be able to give the first figures next week, when pensions are paid on September 9.
The most modest, winners in the long term
Seven hundred thousand retirees should nevertheless see their pension revalued this fall. For the others, the Cnav must still collect data that it did not collect at the time of their departure. However, it ensures that all payments will be made by spring 2024, retroactive to September 1.
In addition, the government has ensured in the drafting of its decrees that the revaluation of pensions does not lead, through threshold effects, to reductions in income. If these are avoided, the increase in pensions will paradoxically have effects on certain allowances: new retirees will benefit from less personalized housing assistance, and those who are eligible for Aspa (ex-minimum old age) should see its amount decrease in the same proportion as the increase in their pension.
Overall, in its last report published at the end of June, the Pensions Orientation Council had calculated that if the 1966 generation ultimately came out the losers with the reform (with a cumulative pension reduced by 1%), that of 1984 could hope for a better retirement ( +0.9%). The more modest people would however be clearly favored (+ 4.7% for the generation of 1966, + 12% for the generation of 1984) while the wealthiest will systematically see their pensions fall.
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The other points of the reform
♦ Closing of the main special diets (RATP, EDF, Banque de France, etc.) for new entrants.
♦ People who started working before 16, 18, 20 and 21 years old will be able to leave respectively from the age of 58, 60, 62 and 63.
♦ Surcharge for mothers with full careers allowing them to leave at age 63 without financial penalty.
♦ Consideration of parental leave and for caregivers in the calculation of quarters.
♦ Creation of a survivor’s pension for orphans up to 21 years old (no age limit for the disabled).
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