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Special Report
Last modification: 23/10/10
Special report: France's pension battle
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has earmarked pension reform as the last flagship policy of his conflict-riddled mandate. A controversial push to raise the legal retirement age has clashed head on with France's notoriously stubborn and powerful unions. A necessary change for some, an injustice for others, pensions reform is a hot-button issue whose success or demise will have profound consequences for France's generous welfare system.
THE FORCES AT BATTLE
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The French system |
When can you retire in France? Anyone can draw a full pension in France at the age of 60 so long as they have paid social security contributions for at least 40.5 years. This is set to rise to 41 in 2012. At 65 anyone can retire on the full pension even if they have not worked the full 40.5 years. In some jobs, deemed especially wearing, it is possible to retire as young as 50. According to the Labour Ministry, there are some 15.5 million pensioners in France, out of a population of some 65 million. This figure is set to rise to 18 million in 2030. Public sector workers retire on 75 percent of their final six-month salary. Private sector workers get 50 percent of their earnings in the 25 best years, plus benefits from additional schemes. Civil servants have 7.85 percent of their salary deducted each month for pensions contributions versus 10.65 percent for private sector workers. According to the state Pensions Council, the annual pension deficit is forecast to reach 32 billion euros in 2010, then 80 billion in 2030. |
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