Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin confirmed this Tuesday, November 12, the revaluation of all pensions by half the inflation on January 1, 2025, then of the smallest pensions in July, specifying that it would cost up to 800 million euros. “On January 1, all pensions will be revalued by probably 0.9 (%), that is to say half of inflation – we will see exactly what the inflation estimate will be. […] And on July 1, 2025, there will be a catch-up for all pensions which are below the level of the minimum wage so that there is no loss of purchasing power”, detailed Laurent Saint-Martin on France 2. “Depending on the reality of inflation, this may vary and we will actually be between 500 and 800 million euros returned to small pensions”, reducing the hoped-for savings to 3 billion, he clarified.
Laurent Saint-Martin also promised to reach “a compromise” “in the very next few days”, with the EPR group in Parliament, so that “there are fewer savings made on reductions in charges (for companies ) than what is proposed in the government’s initial copy” for the 2025 budget.
An announcement made by Laurent Wauquiez
Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Republican Right group (ex-LR) in the Assembly, assured Monday that he had found a compromise with the government so that “all pensions” would be increased by “half the inflation” from January 1 , with a second catch-up for the smallest six months later. The minister assured France 2 that he knew that this announcement would be made by Laurent Wauquiez.
“The Prime Minister has said since the start of this government that we wanted a method of consultation with this coalition which is the majority base in the National Assembly and the Senate, and that there could be changes to the text,” said -he affirmed. “We also need to further demonstrate that the evolution of this text comes from compromises between the government and parliamentarians from the majority base,” he added.
Among its savings avenues for 2025, the government had proposed as part of the examination of its Social Security financing bill to postpone by six months (from January 1 to July 1) the indexation of pensions on inflation to save around four billion euros. A measure criticized even by supporters of the Barnier coalition in the Assembly.