After having failed, under his first five-year term, to carry out a “systemic” reform that turned the structure of the system upside down in the name of a vision of society, Emmanuel Macron returned this time to a more classic reform, called “parametric” essentially aimed at making savings.
It is centered on a flagship measure, raising the retirement age, which brings in around 10 billion euros per additional year, and is accompanied by expenditure for social support measures.
Less ambitious, but more readable by the French than the aborted reform of 2019, it aims to respond to the financial urgency of the pension deficit.
Back to the key points that will change the lives of the French, born from the second half of 1961.
● Increase in the retirement age: 64 years and acceleration of the contribution period
Central subject of the reform, the legal age of departure, increased from 60 to 62 years in 2010 (reform Woerth), will again be raised gradually, even if all the unions are unanimously opposed to it and make it a “red line”.
The Head of State had mentioned two tracks: 65 years or 64 years with an acceleration of the contribution period, which would increase to 43 years (172 quarters) before the 2035 horizon set by the Touraine reform.
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This second option seems to prevail in the latest arbitrations, under pressure from LR and majority deputies.
The contribution period, which increases by one quarter every three years, could increase to one more quarter every two years, or even every year.
On the other hand, there is no question of going beyond 43 years of contribution, said Elisabeth Borne last week.
The age at which the discount can be canceled will also remain unchanged, at 67.
● Minimum pension at 1200 euros: for new and probably old retirees
Today, a person who has worked all his life for a modest salary has a pension barely higher than one who has done nothing and receives the solidarity allowance for the elderly Aspa (ex-minimum old age).
To widen the gap between the two and promote work, the President of the Republic has promised to raise the minimum pension for a full career to 1,200 euros per month.
The executive thought to reserve this measure for new retirees (the “flow” of the insured).
But the right and some of the Renaissance deputies want to extend it to people who are already retired (the "stock").
However, this generosity has a significant cost, borne by the other policyholders: it costs 2.5 billion per year if we include the "stock", against 500 million if we limit ourselves to the "flow".
Elisabeth Borne promised that a debate on the subject would take place in the Assembly.
● Long and arduous careers
Established in 2003, pushed by the CFDT, expanded under the Holland five-year term, the “long career” system allows policyholders who started working before the age of 20 to leave two years earlier, provided they meet a certain number of quarters.
Currently, 20% of retirements are made via this device, described as “expensive” by the Court of Auditors, especially since the trades concerned are not all necessarily painful.
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In addition, beneficiaries have a longer retirement period: 27 years and 3 months for long career departures, compared to just under 25 years for the rest of the population, for the 1960 generation. The system should be reviewed, with different valves: 5 terms worked before age 16 would allow you to leave 6 years earlier;
before 18 years old, 4 years earlier and before 20 years old, 2 years earlier.
● Special diets
Only three small special regimes should not be affected by the reform: the Paris Opera, the Comédie-Française and the fishermen, for reasons of absolute specificity of the trades.
On the other hand, at the RATP as with the electricians and the gas companies, the special regimes will be closed for new entrants, as is already the case at the SNCF.
This is the famous "grandfather clause".
The other employees will not escape the postponement of the age: they will certainly continue to leave earlier than the others, but will have to work 2 years more if the retirement age is raised to 64 years and 3 years more it is increased to 65 years.
The increase in the retirement age could however start a little later in these special schemes, because the Woerth reform of 2010, which already raised it by two years, will not be fully effective until 2024. Companies employing these employees would have to set up a period of convergence with the other schemes.
● Difficulty
In terms of hardship, the reform should improve the professional prevention account (C2P) without however modifying the number of criteria.
The text should remain on the six criteria of 2017, but lower certain thresholds and take into account polyexposure (exposure to several factors at the same time).
The creation of retraining leave for beneficiaries of a professional prevention account is also under study.
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Finally, the professional branches will be led to set up a fund for the prevention of professional wear and tear for professions identified as difficult, the actions of which may be co-financed by the accident at work-occupational disease branch, which has a surplus.
Early departures for professional wear and tear should be individual and not collective, and require medical advice.
● Employment of seniors
While too few seniors have a job (35.5% of 60-64 year olds at the end of 2021), the government recognizes that the success of its reform depends on maintaining employment at the end of their career.
To do this, it provides that the quarters carried out within the framework of an accumulation of employment and retirement now count for the pension, but also that access to phased retirement is facilitated and open to civil servants.
The executive also intends to prevent a resumption of activity from resulting, for seniors, in a loss of remuneration.
To this end, the government is considering a bonus that could emerge as part of the unemployment insurance scheme implemented on January 1, 2024.
Finally, a "senior index", negotiated in each branch, will have to be published by companies with more than 50 employees, accompanied by a penalty for those who do not fulfill this obligation.
● Family rights
Sensitive subjects of survivors' pensions, quarters for children, etc., should not appear in the text and are supposed to be postponed.
Quarters could, however, be allocated to beneficiaries of the old-age insurance for stay-at-home parents (AVPF).