Retirement: proposals to finance the plan… without affecting the retirement age

Politicians, unions and employers met at the National Assembly to discuss financing the pension plan. And repeat that all avenues must be put on the table to restore balance to the system.

You are never better served than by yourself. Lack of response from the government to the request of the social partners but also of certain politicians to organize a financing conference for the pension plan, two parliamentarians took matters into their own hands. Eric Coquerel, president (La France insoumise) of the finance committee of the National Assembly and Charles de Courson (freedom, independent, overseas and territories group – Liot), rapporteur of this same committee, organized this Monday 21 October, a conference with social partners and economists on pension financing. “Our role is to set a first milestone. This unofficial financing conference should encourage the government to hold one”introduced Eric Coquerel.

During a morning, the unions and employers were able to freely discuss, in turn, their financing options to get the retirement system back on track. “For two years, the government has refused, on principle, to debate the resources allocated to our retirement system”criticized Sophie Binet. Asking like many other unions to repeal the 2023 pension reform, which raises the legal age from 62 to 64, the leader of the CGT listed a series of new resources for the retirement system. She notably mentioned the payment of contributions on premiumsprofit-sharing and participation, which would make it possible to replenish the funds to the tune of 2.4 billion euros per year, or to finally achieve equal pay between men and women, which would have the effect to collect 6.5 billion more contributions per year.

A necessary effort for the employment of seniors

Everyone’s arguments also revolved a lot around improving the work of seniors. Negotiations on unemployment insurance and employment of seniors are due to begin this Tuesday, October 22 and end on November 14. “We must work to improve the employment of seniors guaranteed by an employer contribution if it does not improve this employability”warned Yvan Ricordeau of the CFDT.

These presentations were also an opportunity for the unions to remind that raising the legal age is not the only solution for the sustainability of the system. Several of them have introduced the possibility of increasing the contribution rate, which the government has always refused to do. “A 0.5 point increase in the contribution rate means 5.5 billion euros more in pension funds”pleaded Sophie Binet. The possibility of reversing social security contribution reductions up to 3.5 SMIC (6,184.22 euros gross per month), to bring more contributions into the coffers, has also been mentioned on multiple occasions. “We should reduce these exemptions from employer contributions for salaries between 2.5 and 3.5 SMIC”encouraged Charles de Courson. “These exemptions are low-wage traps whose effects on employment are uncertain”criticized François Hommeril, president of the CFE-CGC, executives’ union.

Introduce a capitalization dose

Unsurprisingly, employers have expressed their opposition to such increases. “An increase in contributions appears neither realistic nor desirable”castigated Diane Milleron-Deperrois, for Medef. Rather, she sought to introduce the question of capitalization into the debate. “Without calling into question our pay-as-you-go system, it seems relevant to bring into the public debate the subject of the introduction of a funded pension level”supported the co-chair of the Medef social protection commission. “We are in favor of individual savings managed collectively by social partners to finance, over time, our system as we know it today”added Eric Chevée, from the Confederation of Small and Medium Enterprises (CPME).

While waiting to see if the government will respond to the call of the participants in this conference, legislative proposals to repeal the pension reform are piling up. If the National Rally will take advantage of its parliamentary niche to table a bill repealing the pension reform next October 31the New Popular Front is also preparing its weapons and putting forward a precise timetable. He will study another bill repealing the pension reform during the France Insoumise deputies’ meeting on November 28. “The text must then be presented on January 23 to the Senate in the context of the communist niche then on February 6 to the National Assembly in the environmentalist niche”specified Mathilde Panot, president of the La France insoumise group at the National Assembly.