The subject of pensions will come back into the news this Thursday, October 31, during the parliamentary niche of the National Rally. An endless debate, and a horizon that continues to move away for active people. At the end of 2022, 17 million people were directly retired from French schemes. That is 175,000 more people compared to the end of 2021. But under the effect of reforms, the average age of departure continues to decline.
According to the latest edition of the pension overview published this Wednesday October 30 by the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Drees), this age was 62 years and 8 months at the end of 2022. An increase of two years and two months since 2010. And according to the Drees , the average age of departure should not decrease. On the contrary, it should continue to increase, soon forcing workers to leave an average of six months later.
The impact of the 2010 and 2023 reforms
At issue: the pension reforms of 2010 and 2023. According to the statistical department of the social ministries, the increases in the legal ages from 60 to 62 years resulting from the 2010 reform would explain this increase of two years and two months in the average age of departure. But contrary to popular belief, that of 2023 should not have as much effect, and should lead to a six-month postponement. Indeed, unlike the 2010 reform which set the starting age without reduction (without reduction of the pension in the event of missing quarters) at 67 years, instead of 65, that of 2023 kept the retirement age unchanged. departure without discount. A characteristic which, according to Drees, should limit the decline in the average age of departure.
According to this same study, other developments have also contributed to the increase in the retirement age between 2010 and 2022. Among other things, almost a quarter of this increase could be explained “by the reduction in retirements before age 60, mainly from special schemes and the civil service. The modification of the rules for combining employment and retirement in 2014 would also have played a role in this increase. According to Drees, this “encouraged certain people to extend their careers within the framework of the premium rather than via this system”.
Differences between men and women
However, these general developments mask persistent gender disparities. In 2022, women liquidated their retirement rights on average at age 63, eight months after men who did so at 62 years and 4 months. A gap that tends to narrow over generations. “Women and men born in the first half of the 1930s retired with a gap of 1 year and 9 months, those born in the 1940s with a gap of 1 year and 3 months, and those born in the 1940s with a gap of 1 year and 3 months, and those born in the 1940s with a gap of 1 year and 3 months, and born in 1955 with 10 months,” explains the study by the Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics.
Same observation regarding the average amount of the monthly direct pension. At the end of 2022, this stood at 1,626 euros gross, or 1,512 euros net for retirees residing in France. That of women, on the other hand, was 38% lower than that of men. A gap reduced to 26% if we include survivor’s pensions (the pension of a deceased person received by the surviving spouse) and which continues to decrease over the years. In 2004, the gap in the amount between the pensions of male and female retirees was 50%. Income heterogeneity explained by differences in remuneration and career profiles.
But whatever the sex of the retiree, as in previous years, their standard of living was “slightly higher than that of the entire population in 2021” (latest figures available). With a median standard of living at 1,970 euros per month for a retiree living in mainland France in ordinary housing, this was 2.1% higher than that of the rest of the population.