Pension reform suspended until the presidential elections: at what age can you finally leave and how many quarters you must have contributed

Sébastien Lecornu reaches out to the left and the unions. During his general policy statement this Tuesday, October 14, the Prime Minister surprised by announcing the total suspension of the pension reform until the 2027 presidential elections.

Last week, Élisabeth Borne, who had carried out the pension reform as Prime Minister, using article 49.3 of the Constitution to impose it, raised the hypothesis of a partial suspension, freezing only the legal retirement age without affecting the contribution period.

Retirement at age 64 is postponed for one year

But in practice, what does this mean for future retirees? Let us remember that the 2023 reform gradually raises the legal retirement age to 64 years for generations born in 1968. It also accelerates the “Turena” reform by increasing the contribution period: the number of quarters necessary to leave without reduction increases more quickly to 172, or 43 years of contributions, for the generation born in 1965, instead of the 1973 generation.

As former pension advisor Eric Weil explains on the social network

Specifically, for the generations born in 1963 and 1964, the legal age would be blocked at 62 years and 9 months, and the number of quarters necessary to leave without reduction would be frozen at 170, which is equivalent to 42 years and six months of contributions. Without the suspension, people born in 1964 would have had to leave three months later and contribute 3 more months.

A person born on January 1, 1964 could have retired on January 1, 2027 (with 171 quarters of contributions). Now you will be able to retire on October 1, 2026 (and with only 170 quarters of contributions).

Then the reform would resume its course starting with the generation of 1965, who will be able to retire at the age of 63 and must have acquired 171 quarters, and therefore have contributed for 42 years and 9 months, to benefit from an unreduced pension.

Thus, the legal retirement age would reach 64 years from the generation born in 1969 compared to 1968 initially. The contribution period, for its part, would reach 172 quarters (43 years) starting with the generation of 1966, instead of 1965. It should be noted that the Touraine reform, begun in 2020, initially planned to reach 172 quarters starting with the generation of 1973. It remains to be seen, therefore, if these parameters will change during the Social Security budget for 2028, which will be the first debated after the 2027 presidential elections, which could reshuffle the cards.