Postponement of the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 years, increase of the contribution period faster than expected through an acceleration of the Touraine reform… Not surprisingly, the pension reform presented by the government last week is still far from getting the approval of the French. According to the latest Elabe poll for BFMTV, 66% of them oppose the executive’s project.
By a large majority, the French reject any measure designed to make them work longer. This is precisely the objective of the reform. Although not everyone will be affected in the same way. To see it more clearly, we simulated the effects of the reform* in the careers of eleven fictitious profiles with very different characteristics.
• Véronique, born in 1966, started working at 23
Under the current rules, Véronique will be able to retire at age 62 at the earliest, at a discount. To obtain a full pension, she must validate 169 quarters, which is equivalent to working 42 years and one quarter, or up to 65 years and three months.
With the reform, Véronique will not be able to leave before the age of 63 years and six months, like all the people of the generation of 66, with some exceptions. The acceleration of the increase in her contribution period will also force her to contribute three more quarters, that is, for 43 years, if she wants to avoid any discount on her basic pension. Therefore, Véronique will have to work until the age of 66 to benefit from a full pension.
> Without the reform, Véronique could retire at full rate at 65 years and 3 months. With the reform she will have to work 9 more months.
• Julien, born in 1990, started working at 21
With the current system, Julien will be able to retire at 62 years of age. The postponement of the age of majority provided for by the reform will force him, on the other hand, to work until the age of 64, like all people born after 1968, except in special cases.
On the other hand, Julien is not worried about the acceleration of Touraine’s reform. All workers born after 1973 must already contribute 172 quarters (43 years) to obtain a full pension. In other words, Julien will collect his full rate at age 64, whether the reform is approved or not.
> Julien will leave at full rate at 64 in any case.
• Stéphane, born in 1960, started working at the age of 25
The first affected by the reform are those born after September 1961, nothing changes for Stéphane. He can still leave at age 62 and benefit from a full basic pension if he validates 167 quarters (41 years and three quarters), or at age 66 and 9 months if there is no break in his career.
> In any case, Stéphane will not fully retire before the age of 66 years and 9 months
• Noémie, born in 1970, started working at 21, has contributed to Smic throughout her career
Under the current system, Noémie has the option of leaving at age 62 or at age 63 and nine months to receive a full pension.
With the reform, Noémie will have to wait until she is 64 to retire. She will also have to contribute a quarter more, that is, at age 43, which will also allow her to obtain a full pension at age 64.
With a full career at Smic, Noémie will also see her pension increase as she will benefit from the revaluation of the minimum pension up to 85% of net Smic, or approximately 1,200 euros gross per month.
> With the reform, Noémie will have to work 3 more months to get a full pension.
• Noah, born in 1981, started working as an apprentice at 15 years and 9 months
Having contributed 5 quarters before the end of his 16 years, Noah is one of those eligible for the long run scheme. Today, he can aspire to retire at age 60 if he has validated his 172 quarters. In fact, he didn’t start early enough to be able to leave at 58 or 59 (45 years of contributions are required).
With the reform, Noah will be able to leave a little earlier. The government plan establishes that people who worked before the age of 16 can retire from the age of 58, subject to having contributed the required insurance period plus one year, and not more than two as at present, that is, 44 years instead of 45. Therefore, Noah can expect to retire at 59 years and nine months.
> With the reform, Noah will be able to retire 3 months earlier
• Julia, born in 1985, started working at 17
Julia validated 5 quarters before finishing her 18 years. With the current rules, she can therefore retire early at age 60 as long as she has contributed for 43 years, under the long-career regime.
With the reform, Julia will have to wait until she is 61 before retiring. In the government draft, in fact, it is established that people who started working before the age of 18 can always leave from the age of 60, but “subject to having contributed the required insurance period plus one year”, it is say, 44 years instead of 43.
> Julia will have to work 1 more year to retire at full rate
• Charles, retired with a pension of 950 euros
With the new rules provided for in the reform, Charles will benefit from the revaluation of the minimum contribution that will affect both future retirees and current retirees, provided they have contributed a full career at the minimum wage. Therefore, he should receive a pension equivalent to 85% of the net minimum wage, or 1,200 euros gross per month.
> Carlos’ pension will increase with the pension reform
• Camille, born in 1971, began her career at the age of 24, with a three-year break
Camille started working at the beginning of 1995. However, she stopped working for three years. In the current system, she will be able to leave at age 62 but she will have to work until age 67, the age at which the discount is cancelled, to obtain a full pension.
With the reform, Camille will not be able to leave before the age of 64. On the other hand, the discount cancellation age, which allows you to automatically benefit from a full-rate pension, will remain the same, that is, 67 years.
> In any case, Camille will have a full pension at age 67
•Yoann, a police officer born in 1978, started working at 22
Yoann is part of the active staff of the national police. Currently, he can retire at age 52, as long as he accepts a reduction in his pension. If theoretically she should have contributed 172 quarters (43 years) to receive a full pension, she will be able to obtain it from the age of 57, the discount cancellation age for police officers.
With the reform, officials who carry out a dangerous activity will be able to continue leaving early but will have to continue working longer. Therefore, Yoann will not be able to leave before age 54, but he will still be able to receive her full pension at age 57.
> This will not change anything for Yoann’s pension. On the other hand, he will not be able to retire before the age of 54, compared to the current 52 with the reform.
• Malika, born in 1989, recognized as disabled
Recognized as invalid, Malika will be able to leave at age 62 with a full rate in the current system, even if she has not validated all her quarters.
The same will happen with government reform. Although the legal age will be increased to 64 years, “an early retirement age will be created to allow” people recognized as disabled or unfit “to retire at 62 years of age at the full rate, as today”, indicates the Government.
> Nothing changes Malika
• Pascal, born in 1974, started working at the age of 23, self-employed
As for employees in the private sector, Pascal will have to work for two more years. Therefore, he will not be able to retire before the age of 64, compared to 62 today. The acceleration of Touraine’s reform, however, does not change anything for him since he had already contributed 43 years to obtain the full rate from him.
The government plan also promises to improve the retirement pensions of the self-employed. “For the self-employed, we want to simplify the calculation of social security contributions, and improve their ability to generate pension rights”, can be read in the file for the presentation of the reform. “For the PLFSS 2024, we will begin technical and consultation work to reform the social base of self-employed workers, so that its calculation is simplified and the pension rights of self-employed workers are strengthened, especially for the most modest . them,” he said.
> For Pascal, nothing changes, except perhaps the amount of his pension, although not all the terms are known yet.
*For the sake of simplification, this simulation does not take into account the rules regarding hard work that can advance retirement age. However, it should be remembered that the reform will always take into account the harshness of the professions, although with some modifications, so that those interested can leave at 62 and not at 64. The Government plan also includes periods of parental leave when calculating the contribution period.
Source: BFM TV
