The machine has been set in motion. On Friday, July 1, 2011, the pension reform came into effect. Voted in October 2010, it plans to increase the legal retirement age to 62 by 2018. The increase will be implemented in steps of 4 months each year. Explanation.
The pension reform voted in November 2010, which has attracted so much attention, went into force on July 1, 2011. From now on, the French will retire later. The legal retirement age will reach 62 in 2018, up from 60 today.
How does the increase in the legal age work?
The increase in the legal retirement age will occur in increments of 4 months every year. People born after July 1, 1951, who were supposed to retire in 2011, will therefore work 4 additional months. Those born in 1952 will add another 4 months, and so on, until the retirement age reaches 62 by 2018 (for those born in 1956).
Full rate at 67 years
The “full rate” age (set at 65 in 2011) is increased by 2 years. It will stabilize at 67 years in 2023.
Additionally, the contribution period will be raised to 41 years and 1 quarter in 2013 (instead of the current 41 years) for the 1953 and 1954 generations. It will increase to 41.5 years in 2020, as confirmed by Xavier Bertrand, the Minister of Labor.
For whom?
The reform applies to employees born between July 1 and December 31, 1951. It is applicable to both private sector employees, civil servants, and self-employed professionals. The exception is for special regimes, for which a reform was already passed in 2008. For them, the legal delay won’t begin until 2017.
CGT vs MEDEF
The CGT, a major labor union, has expressed its strict opposition to the pension reform. On its website cgt.fr, the union describes the age postponement as “unjust and penalizing for employees.” The CGT desires something else and is convinced of the “necessity for a genuine employment policy” to sustainably balance the pension system. Their message is clear: “It’s time to work towards a fairer distribution of wealth by demanding salary increases for everyone and requiring real progress on salary and professional equality.”
Conversely, the employer’s union, MEDEF, views the age postponement as a “step forward” and aligns with data such as the beginning of retirements for baby boomers, increased life expectancy, and the increasingly delayed entry into the workforce. “By setting the retirement age at 62 in 2018 for everyone, the government project reintroduces equity both between generations and within each generation,” explains Laurence Parisot, President of the union, on the website medef.com. However, MEDEF sees a downside: they believe some measures might affect the competitiveness between companies and, consequently, the job market.
