Detox. Yes, senators’ pensions are well funded by the state.

Where does the intox come from?

On Sud Radio, the leader of the Republican senators, Bruno Retailleau, indicated that the pension plan of the upper house, one of the most generous pension systems in France, was going to be modified, but without being abolished: “We will postpone for two years [l’âge de départ]and we are going to make a number of proposals to adapt it. […] but it is an autonomous system for us, which does not require State intervention, because we contribute a lot, a lot, a lot more than the deputies, we are at 20%.”

Why is this wrong?

Bruno Retailleau, like most Senators, justifies the privileges of their retirement system by asserting that it is balanced, and does not need public subsidies…. It is quickly said.

To verify this, we must delve into the operation of the very particular system of senators.

Their retirement is initially financed in part by a war chest, which the senate has built up over time and which is invested in particular in financial products. But also by an overpayment of senators, as Bruno Retailleau says. Their contribution is thus four points higher than that of the deputies.

But that’s not all: this over-contribution also concerns their employer. Thus, the Senate contributes very generously for its members, around 30%, against 22% for the National Assembly, and only 16% for employers in the private sector. However, the Senate is well financed… by the State. It is therefore difficult to say, as Retailleau does, that their “autonomous” regime does not experience any intervention by the public authorities.