New pension changes could come in the coming weeks.
Are we heading towards a new upheaval of the retirement rules? The hypothesis is more and more possible. A year after the entry into force of the highly contested reform which pushed back the legal retirement age to 64, new voices are being raised to reform the system which allows French people to stop working while continuing to receive A pension.
The organization of legislative elections – with the very likely establishment of a new government – has led to various proposals from the parties. 60, 62, 64 or even 66 years old, discount, full rate… Between everything, it’s difficult to find your way around. Three projects are opposed: that of the National Rally, that of the New Popular Front and that of Ensemble pour la République, the coalition of parties around Emmanuel Macron.
The party led by Jordan Bardella has clarified its position on the subject. The objective is clear: to establish a progressive pension system. The earlier a French person starts in the world of work, the sooner they will be able to leave… And vice versa! The reform promised by the RN is based on two pillars: 40 years of contributions for people who started working before the age of 20 and minimum departure at 60, 42 years of contributions for those who started after 20 years.
Concretely, a person who entered the labor market at 16, 17, 18 or 19 years old will be able to retire, at full rate, at 60 years old if they have validated their 40 years of service. For a later entry into the job market, you will need to have accumulated 42 years of service to start at full rate, therefore at 62 years old if you start working at 20 years old, 64 years old for a start at 22 years old, 66 years old for a start at 24 years old etc…
Without automatic, full-rate retirement from a certain age? The vagueness remains and this is the difference with the rules currently in force. Today, full-rate retirement is automatically received at age 67, regardless of the number of years accumulated. Furthermore, the RN did not comment on the retirement age with a discount.
On the side of the New Popular Front, retirement will also be progressive, but it will be necessary to work less: it will be possible to retire at 62, initially, then at 60, in a second phase, whatever the The age at which the person began their career. However, the left warns that it will be necessary to have accumulated 40 years to receive the full pension. Otherwise, a reduction will apply to the pension.
Thus, a person who started working at 16, 17, 18, 19 or 20 years old will be able to legally retire at 60 years old, or earlier as part of the long careers system, and receive their entire pension if they has accumulated 40 years of service. If she does not have them, her pension will be reduced. For a start at 22 years old, the rules will be the same from 62 years old, then at 64 years old for a start at 24 years old etc… That is, two years less than the RN proposal. But here again, the automatic age for receiving a full pension has not been indicated.
For its part, Ensemble pour la République does not plan any changes. The current Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, has confirmed that there will be no new pension reform and that the current rules will remain in force if he continues to govern the country.
Leading in the polls on voting intentions in the legislative elections, the RN and the NFP have promised that they would implement their pension reform in the fall for the far right and this summer for the left. To do this, you still need to have a majority in the National Assembly.