Pension reform: who will have to work for 44 years?

“No one will have to work 47 or 49 years, that is wrong. We will not go beyond 43 years of contribution to have a full pension”, explained Elisabeth Borne at the beginning of January. Finally, the pension reform unveiled this Tuesday by the Prime Minister provides “that no one who has started working early is obliged to work for more than 44 years”.

Enough to provoke the anger of the left opposition, which accuses the head of government of having lied. In practice, the threshold of 43 years of contribution to benefit from a full pension is well maintained for “classic” careers, although it will be reached more quickly than that foreseen by the Touraine reform, that is to say, from 2027 instead of of 2035. With regard to long careers, on the other hand, some Frenchmen who take advantage of this system may be forced to work for 44 years, compared to 43 years so far, to leave before the legal age.

Extended long careers, except for those that started before the age of 16.

Remember that with the current system, a person who started working between the ages of 18 and 20 can claim a full pension from the age of 60, provided they have validated four or five quarters before the end of the year in which they turn 20 years. With the reform of the government, he will no longer be able to leave before the age of 62. For example, a person born in 1973 who would have started working at age 18 had to have contributed a minimum of 43 years up to now (including 4 or 5 quarters before turning 20) to aspire to leave with a full pension at 61 years. years. Under the new system, she will have to contribute for another year.

The government also intends to introduce a new threshold for people who started working between the ages of 16 and 18. These may leave at age 60 but “subject to having contributed the required insurance period plus one year.” Here again, a person born in 1973 who would have started at age 17 could have left at age 60 under the current system (43 years of contributions). From now on, she will have to contribute for 44 years.

On the other hand, the executive reform is more advantageous for people who started working before the age of 16. Today, the latter can leave at age 58, provided they have contributed the required insurance period plus two years, that is, up to 45 years for some of them. With the reform, it will be enough to have contributed for the required time plus a single year, that is, a maximum of 44 years.