Pension reform: who will not be affected by the increase in the retirement age?

Emmanuel Macron announced on Monday December 12 the postponement of the presentation of the final version of the text of the pension reform, resulting from yet another and a priori last round of negotiations with the social partners and the opposition. The said presentation will therefore finally be held on Tuesday, January 10, while the original appointment was set for before the holidays.

The first choice of date had been strongly criticized for falling just before Christmas, so organizing a mass social movement would have proved more difficult than usual. The postponement of the presentation also remains highly criticized. Indeed, Emmanuel Macron justified it by his desire to allow but also to push everyone to take a position on the subject. We can see the desire to democratize the negotiation process as much as possible, as well as a political strategy aimed at not giving anyone the advantage of not getting wet in front of public opinion.

Some key points of the reform seem already fixed, as indicated by Olivier Dussopt, Minister Delegate for Labor last Thursday, December 15 during a press conference. First of all, the timetable for the entry into force of the reform should not change: it should therefore apply from the summer of 2023. Second, the number of years of contribution necessary to receive a full pension would be fixed at 43 years. The automatic age for canceling the discount will be maintained at 67.

A new system should also see the light of day through the pension reform, aimed at promoting the employment of seniors. This would be an index listing all the senior employees of companies with more than 50 employees, allowing transparency on the issue and facilitating the implementation of reward or penalty measures in the event that an organization does not employ enough older individuals.

A certain category of future retirees should however escape the reform, as reported by Capital.

Indeed, the so-called “incapacity” pensions will remain as they are, from the terms of eligibility to the retirement age, although the registration mechanism will be somewhat simplified. These pensions are intended for people receiving a disability pension, disabled adult allowance or those who can attest to an inability to work of at least 50%.

This system allows them to retire with a full pension from the age of 62. Retired by incapacity are also automatically eligible for the solidarity allowance for the elderly as well as the minimum contribution, which they can benefit from in advance.

The terms of eligibility for this system are very simple, and the process of providing information will probably be made even easier.

Recipients of the disabled adult allowance, as well as those receiving a disability pension, are automatically eligible for retirement at age 62 due to incapacity. However, there is a third way to take advantage of this device: to be recognized as unfit shortly before departure.

To do this, it is necessary to pass a medical examination with a medical adviser from the Health Insurance and that the latter certifies an incapacity to work up to at least 50%. However, it would seem that this procedure is relatively unknown.

This is why the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs calls on pension funds to identify the profiles that could potentially correspond to those of beneficiaries of retirement by incapacity… As well as to establish a list of typical cases for which the medical examination would be optional.