To promote the return to work of older people, those who are unemployed and find a job that is less well paid than the previous one could continue to receive part of their allowance, suggests the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, in an interview with Sunday newspaper.
The low employment rate of the elderly is often used as an argument against the government’s pension reform, which plans to raise the retirement age to 64 and then 65 by 2031 to ensure the financial balance of the system.
For the minister, France’s poor results compared to its neighbors are explained in part because “our economic system does not have a culture of employment for the elderly.” It also points to “devices that can be perceived as incentives, for employers, to separate from older people”, such as “the maximum duration of unemployment benefit, which, from 55 years of age, ranges from 24 to 36 months “.
professional index
To promote the return to work of those over 55, “one of the ways could be to allow an older person who accepts a lower-paid job to keep part of their unemployment benefit to compensate for the loss of income. We can work there”, indicates Olivier Dussopt, who wants to “also promote progressive retirement and the accumulation of jobs for retirement”.
“The creation of a professional employment index for the elderly, on the model of equality between women and men, will be part of the discussions” that the minister, who leads the reform of pensions and health insurance for unemployment with the social partners in the coming weeks. She also mentions “incentive mechanisms, in the form, for example, of exemptions from social security contributions” for companies.
But for him “the best way to keep the elderly in employment is still to improve working conditions and fight against the consequences of professional burnout”, issues that will also be on the menu of consultations with unions and employers.
On the question of raising the legal age, to which all the unions oppose, “that will be agreed, but the average exit age must be raised,” he insists, while considering “introducing a review clause” , which “may be a way of taking a date in the future to take stock”.
Source: BFM TV
