Help for retirees. Supplementary pensions for former private sector employees will be increased by 4.9% from November 1, in line with inflation, announced the trade union and employer organizations managing the Agirc-Arrco scheme, which have yet to sign the agreement. picked up during the night of Wednesday to Thursday October 5.
The “malus”, a temporary reduction of 10% which has applied since 2019 to the pensions of many retirees who have left having met all the legal conditions, will be eliminated from December 1 for new retirees, then from April for all the retirees concerned, they indicated. Without definitively promising to sign, several organizations including the CFDT and the Medef said they were satisfied. The CGT, CPME and FO showed more reservations, while welcoming progress. The deadline to sign the agreement was set for Wednesday.
Inflation in the crosshairs?
Between 2024 and 2026, the revaluation of pensions could be less: depending on the economic situation, the increase could be under-indexed by a maximum of 0.4 points below inflation. But the board of directors of the joint body may choose to bring it back to the level of inflation. The “penalty”, introduced in 2019, aimed to encourage employees to work one more year, even though they had reached the legal retirement age and the required contribution period. Otherwise, they saw their pension reduced by 10% for three years.
A bonus was granted for two to four years of additional work. It will be kept for those who are not affected by the pension reform. Agirc-Arrco pays nearly 90 billion euros each year to 13 million retirees. This additional part represents between 20% and 60% of the total pension depending on the person.
Common front
In addition to the revaluations, unions and employers have shown a common front against the desire of the executive to drain Agirc-Arrco’s reserves, which FO negotiator Michel Beaugas considers as a “misappropriation of funds”.
The executive is demanding one to three billion annually from Agirc-Arrco by 2030, which it first presented as participation in the increase in the contributory minimum (small pensions) provided for by its pension reform, to finally mention a duty of “solidarity” between regimes with a view to an overall “return to balance”. Otherwise, he threatens to use the funds and argues the good financial health of the regime, its 68 billion reserves, and the new revenues brought by the pension reform (estimated by Agirc-Arrco at 22 billion over fifteen years) .
According to the social partners, such a drain would jeopardize Agirc-Arrco, and its ability to increase pensions in the future. Because one billion is equivalent to 1.1% revaluation. The plan also operates with a “golden rule” which requires keeping six months of advance payments in reserve, over a period of 15 years.
“Inflected” support
“We are all resisting. We refuse to sign a check to the government,” summarized Christelle Thieffinne (CFE-CGC). The social partners have chosen not to include in their agreement any “convention” or “financial pipeline to the State”, they specified. But one article provides for the launch of work aimed at internal “solidarity” measures within the regime, via a working group, planned to be completed by the end of the first half of 2024.
They want a possible future boost to small pensions to only be “directed” to those who depend on the Agirc Arrco, not the general system. Eric Chevée (CPME) regretted that the agreement did not directly refer to small pensions. The text “does not protect us” from a levy, he judged.
For Pascale Coton (CFTC), unions and employers have today “demonstrated that parity must be preserved”. “Despite pressure from the executive during this negotiation, the social partners continued to move forward together,” rejoiced Medef negotiator Diane Milleron-Deperrois. “We have a balance between preserving the purchasing power of retirees and the financial sustainability of the scheme over time”, negotiated “independently”.
“If the government persists, it will have to bear responsibility,” she said. With the social conference on October 16, organizations will have “enough space to express themselves to the Prime Minister”, underlined Mr. Beaugas. “Maybe she’ll listen to reason.”