French President Emmanuel Macron was re-elected for a further five-year term in April and one of his less popular manifesto promises is to increase the state retirement age to 65 by 2031.
This was part of his previous manifesto in 2017 but was not implemented owing to a combination of strong opposition and the economic impact of COVID-19.
Since 2011, the earliest retirement age is 62 and he aims to increase it progressively over the coming years. Also, there are plans to remove some of the benefits for France’s Régimes Spéciaux (these include, civil servants, state railway workers, teachers and Banque de France workers), who currently have early retirement privileges.
Like the UK, France’s state pension, L’Assurance Retraite is compulsory and funded by individuals’ social security contributions.
It is made up of two parts, both of which are set by the state and can depend on the individual’s profession:
- Régime de Base: this is the basic state pension, and is calculated based on how many quarters (trimesters) an individual has worked and paid social charges in France
- Régime Complémentaire: this is a complementary pension, based on a points system, which varies depending on an individual’s profession and salary
Reforms have been proposed regarding final salary pensions and for the minimum pension to be set at €1,100 (equivalent to approximately £940) a month. This would be a significant increase for some pensioners, such as agricultural workers, who often receive about €300-€400 (£250 - £340).
By comparison, the ‘new’ UK basic state pension, introduced in April 2016, is just over £800 (€935) per month.
Pension reform in France is a very contentious issue and President Macron was faced with numerous strikes and protests at his plans to reform the country’s pension system in his previous term of office. Hence, any reforms are likely to be met with strong opposition.
However, the reality is that social security contributions are insufficient to continue to support the fact that most first-world individuals are living longer.