After more than eight hours of debate, the 14 deputies and senators of the Joint Joint Committee (CMP) on pensions ended up reaching an agreement this Wednesday at the end of the afternoon on a final version of the bill reforming pensions . The postponement of the legal age of departure from 62 to 64 has been confirmed, even if parliamentarians have acted on a “review clause” in 2027, with a parliamentary debate.
On several other points, the copy of the elected officials is significantly different from that given by the government in January. Overview of key changes:
Extended conditions for early departure for “long careers”
This is one of the main concessions made to the Republican (LR) deputies to convince them to vote for the reform. The CMP has approved the extension of the long career system allowing early retirement for those who started working early.
Today, you have to start working before the age of 20 to stop working two or even four years before the legal age. Deputies and senators have agreed to allow those who worked before the age of 21 to leave at 63.
In addition, the CMP agreed that the beneficiaries of the scheme would no longer be required to have contributed for a minimum of 44 years but 43 years. Enough to allow those who started working at 17 to leave at 60, for example. This second concession, shunned by the Senate but put back on the table by the boss of LR deputies, Olivier Marleix, will not prevent some from having to contribute up to 44 years of age.
In total, these relaxations will cost 700 million euros.
· A boost for the pension of certain mothers
The deputies subscribed to the idea, adopted unanimously by the senators, to create an increase in pension for certain mothers. This bonus, which can increase the pension of those concerned by up to 5%, will be reserved for women who, at age 63, have reached the contribution period necessary to leave at the full rate and have acquired at least one quarter in respect of maternity, the adoption or education of children. Beneficiaries of the bonus will still have to work until the age of 64.
The idea of this provision, valid for both civil servants and employees in the private sector, is to soften the shock of the reform for women who will lose all or part of the benefit of the quarters acquired in respect of maternity with the postponement of the legal age. This measure should cost nearly 250 million euros by 2030.
A pension increase for large families in the liberal professions
Deputies and senators have agreed to allow liberal professionals and lawyers with three or more children to benefit from the 10% pension bonus already provided for beneficiaries of the general scheme.
A senior index from 300 employees
The deputies wanted to lower the gauge to 50 employees, the senators reduced it to 300, the CMP stopped there: the target of the senior index will be in line with that initially wanted by the executive. On the model of the gender equality index, the companies concerned will have to publish once a year, under penalty of a fine of up to 1% of their turnover, a list of indicators relating to employment seniors and actions to encourage their retention in the workforce.
Taken after consultation with the social partners at the inter-professional level, a decree will define these indicators, their method of calculation and the methods of publication, all of which can be amended by branch agreement. If its index does not improve after three years in a row, the company will have to define an action plan after negotiation with staff representatives, but the part of the amendment by MP Sylvain Maillard (Renaissance) providing for a sanction n was not retained.
The senior CDI maintained but tested first
Doubting its effectiveness and criticizing its cost (800 million according to him), the government and the presidential majority have quite slowed down the senior CDI project for the hiring of over 60s wanted by LR senators. First, because only those unemployed for more than a year will be eligible. Then because before finding its place in the Labor Code on a long-term basis, this new subsidized contract will be the subject of a three-year experiment from 1er September with, beforehand, a proposal to the social partners to define the contours via national interprofessional negotiation.
If this negotiation is not initiated or does not succeed, then the creation of this contract is referred to a branch agreement – if the Constitutional Council finds nothing wrong with it. This branch negotiation must set the terms allowing it to be terminated when the employee has reached his full rate (therefore without the employer being bound by the 70-year limit) and, to encourage him to keep it until there, the counterparties in terms of end-of-career indemnities. If agreed, the senior CDI will be exempt from family contributions for the first year.
Finally, the Government will submit an evaluation report on the experiment to Parliament no later than six months before the end of the experiment.
New revenue to fund the scheme
The CMP has recorded the principle of an increase in the contribution on contractual termination indemnities. Enough to bring in 300 million euros by 2030. However, it is still necessary to finance the expansion of the long career system (with the contribution floor at 43). To do this, the government should set up a sleight of hand bringing in around 700 million euros to the pension system, according to several sources.
This “swap” which is not formalized by amendment in the text of the CMP on Wednesday because it falls under the regulations consists of increasing the old-age contributions of companies on the one hand and lowering the level of contributions feeding the occupational accident branch and occupational illnesses from Social Security (AT-MP) on the other. The government had already resorted to this device to finance the financing of the increase in the minimum contributory for new and old retirees.
Anti-fraud measures
The parliamentarians also agreed to endorse measures to combat fraud, dear to right-wing elected officials. To benefit from the minimum old age, you must have resided at least 9 months in France (and not 6). In addition, the payment of pensions abroad will be controlled through the use of biometrics. So many provisions supposed to bring in 200 million euros.
A retirement for incapacity at age 60
The senators won their case on early retirement for people who have suffered accidents at work or occupational disease. As they wished, these victims of permanent disability will be able to leave at age 60 and not 62 as planned by the government.
The rapporteur of the text in the Senate, René-Paul Savary also wanted to open gradual retirement from the age of 60 (and not 62) but the measure had not been adopted by the government in the Senate. The prospect of civil servants stepping into this breach helped convince CMP members to set aside this easing.
Boosts for firefighters and athletes
The CMP gave the green light to the allocation of three quarters to volunteer firefighters, after ten years of commitment. This bonus defended in the Senate must be supplemented by the allocation of an additional quarter every five years.
Arguing that the practice of a high-level sport can delay the entry into professional life, the parliamentarians decided to increase to 32 against 16 previously the maximum number of quarters that can be validated for athletes.
· Conditions for redeeming terms made easier for students and interns
While it is now possible to buy back quarters as internships, a maximum of two years after the end of these periods, parliamentarians have acted in the CMP that this facility would be offered up to at least 25 years of age. In addition, the parliamentarians agreed to relax the conditions for access to the purchase of a quarter at a reduced price for studies by authorizing it up to an age defined by decree which may not be less than 30 years.
