Since January, the French have been mobilizing to counter a greatly unpopular pension reform, experienced as a real injustice by workers and future retirees. While the unions and the opposition have been particularly offensive in preventing the adoption of the pension reform, nothing could stop the executive, determined to get the law passed at all costs. After weeks of negotiations, it was finally the Elders who had the last word by having the pension reform validated in the den of the Constitutional Council. From now on, many questions arise in particular on the application of the text. Discover one of the unintended consequences of the reform.
With the implementation of the pension reform, scheduled for September 1, an entire generation will be impacted by the lowering of the legal retirement age. The passage from 62 to 64 years is, in fact, part of the major measures decreed by the text, in parallel with the increase in the duration of insurance. A choice that is not without concern for seniors, who already see their survival in the job market being considerably hampered by competition and the economic decisions taken by companies.
It is in this complicated context that the government wanted to submit the creation of a senior index, as well as the prospect of a permanent contract also devoted to the employment of future retirees. Thus envisaged, the CDI seniors could, therefore, promote the employment of the oldest or guarantee an adjustment of their schedules at the end of their career. The senior index, meanwhile, would be used to promote and encourage the employment of the over 55s in France. Companies should therefore communicate on the employability rate of employees over the age of 55.
According to the Minister of the Economy, only 56% of 55-64 year olds are still working. Faced with a particularly worrying senior employment rate, the pension reform should logically accompany a return to employment for older workers. With a legal age now raised to 64, those over 55 will have the obligation to find work to accumulate missing quarters and above all to reach the threshold set for retirement.
In these complex perspectives, the employment of young graduates also stands out as a real question. Is there not a risk of a traffic jam between the oldest and the youngest seeing the light of day, but also of preventing a smoother rotation of jobs between generations?
For Stéphanie Villers, macro-economist and advisor to PwC France, this is a false question. She also recalls the bitter failure of early retirement, which did not make it possible to unblock access to employment by, on the contrary, increasing the unemployment rate.
As notified by 20 minutes, the director of the Higher Institute of Labor, Bernard Vivier, goes in his direction by explaining that “when seniors retire, it does not give work to young people”. Consequently, the professions held by the youngest and the oldest do not have the same functions or the same responsibilities. It will therefore be necessary to observe this phenomenon in detail from the next school year to be sure.
