The pension reform defended by the government will have an impact on all those who retire after September 1, 2023. Cavimac), has been fully integrated into the general system since 1998, will be no exception. But, they will ultimately be little affected.
Firstly because of the particularity of the activity of those who are grouped in the administrative category of “ministers of worship”: a ministry which, by definition, involves a lifetime. “For them, there is never an end”underlines Abdenbi Lazrak, deputy director of Cavimac.
In the Catholic Church, the code of canon law requires priests to “renounce their office” at 75 years old. This “canonical retirement”, after which they remain priests, differs from that, “administrative”, which they can liquidate as soon as the full rate is reached. It is to the latter that the two-year extension of the legal retirement age will apply.
But without much impact for priests whose starting age is already approaching 65. “It is very difficult to estimate how much this reform will cost the Church,” recognizes Father Jean-Christophe Meyer, Deputy Secretary General of the Conference of Bishops of France (CEF).
The increase in the retirement age could affect some priests
Priests do not receive a salary, but a salary. “All are supported by their diocese, which provides them with the same ‘guaranteed minimum'”, he explains. To pay it, each diocese centralizes the resources of the penny, the mass fees, but also the pensions paid by the Cavimac and whose contributions it pays.
The administrative retirement is therefore a fairly transparent moment for a priest, who does not see any change in what his diocese pays him. “If the reform is to have an effect, it will be less on the priests than on the dioceses”, says Ambroise Laurent, in charge of economic, social and legal issues at the CEF.
The postponement of the retirement age could still affect some priests: their pension will therefore be paid later to their diocese, which will contribute longer on their behalf. However, this should only concern a few individuals, for rather small amounts: the average pension of a priest is around €9,000 per year, with contributions paid representing around €5,800.
The “career holes” of former ministers of worship
The priests concerned will be all the less numerous as their profile has evolved. “Until the 1970s and 1980s, they had fairly smooth paths: minor seminary, seminary, ordination…, explains Father Meyer. Today, they have studied sometimes for a long time, have had a professional life before the seminary: the age of ordination tends to increase. » What will be felt on the age of the administrative retirement of priests more and more polypensionnés.
The situation could be more delicate for religious congregations, which cannot all provide a “guaranteed minimum” to their members. And especially for former priests, monks or nuns who have left the diocese or congregation.
Gathered within the Association for a suitable retirement (APRC), they are worried in particular for their years of seminary or novitiate, whose Cavimac has long omitted to call the contributions. Hence the career holes. “Thousands of people are harmed”, assures Jean Doussal, legal manager of the APRC and administrator of Cavimac, which militates “so that all the years are counted, from the moment of entry into common life”.
The minimum pension of €1,200 will not benefit the Church
He underlines the case of certain new communities which have never contributed. The challenge of the years to come for him: “Those who left the diocese or congregation in the 1970s tend to disappear, while we see many elders arriving from these communities with sometimes arrears of twenty or thirty years. »
Another flagship measure of the reform, the minimum pension of €1,200 for a full career at minimum wage should only apply marginally to the Church. “We have only collected contributions on the basis of the minimum wage since 1998: previously, this was done on a flat-rate basis below the minimum wage, explains Laurent Varnier, director of Cavimac. Those who leave today are still suffering the consequences of this package. » We will have to wait… 2043 to see ministers of worship with a full career at the minimum wage.
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A possible revaluation of small pensions
In its desire to increase the purchasing power of retirees, the government has announced that it wants to upgrade the pensions of current retirees. Nearly 1.8 million of them would be affected, provided they benefit from a full-rate career and have contributed at least 120 quarters. Former priests, monks and nuns could be concerned, but, given their profile, with a revaluation closer to the 57 € per month than the 100 € announced by the government.