This is one of the emblematic and controversial measures of Emmanuel Macron’s program: gradually raising the legal retirement age from 62 to 65. But Monday, April 11, on the first day of his campaign between the two rounds, the president said he was ready to “to move” on his proposal during a trip to Pas-de-Calais. He “open the door” a postponement of the legal age to 64 rather than 65.
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In the camp of the outgoing president, we call that “pragmatism”, especially in the voice of the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin. But in fact, Emmanuel Macron is taking a step back on his pension reform to get votes for a second round which promises to be tight, facing a candidate who maintains the retirement age at 62. , and lowers it to 60 for those who started working early.
It’s the end of a dogma, and it’s all the more striking since his campaign team affirmed a few days ago that the gradual postponement to age 65, written in black and white in his program, was an element non-negotiable in the consultation that would open up with the social partners. Because measurement is part of a whole, we were told. It aims both to balance the pension system, which is supposed to remain in deficit for another ten years, but also to finance other major reforms of the candidate’s program, in terms of education, health or home support for the elderly. . This reform is supposed to bring in 9 billion euros in five years, including retirement at 1,100 euros for a full career. Plus the growth gains generated by an extension of the active life of the French.
Change of tone, therefore, confirmed on Tuesday during a trip to Alsace: the 65-year-olds are no longer “a dogma”, explains Emmanuel Macron, who ensures that “everything is not tied up”, going so far as to mention the referendum, “tool in the hand of the President of the Republic”. It opens the door to a postponement of the age limit to 64 in 2027. It also envisages a “review clause” at the end of the five-year term, or even a referendum. It’s still a little vague, it remains to be clarified. There have been several zigzags from President Macron since 2017. The first reform – which aimed to replace the 42 pension schemes with a single scheme calculated in points – did not initially include any age measure. The legal age was to remain at 62. Except that after 18 months of consultation, a pivotal age was introduced at 64 to encourage the French to work longer. This was not the initial philosophy. Voted at first reading in the National Assembly, suspended at the start of the health crisis, this reform was finally abandoned. Too complex and worrying, finally recognized Emmanuel Macron.
Unlike Emmanuel Macron, Marine Le Pen does not save money on the pension system, she increases spending. But a little less than expected, because it has also changed its project in recent months, especially on the legal age. The National Rally candidate promises to lower the legal age of departure to 60 this year, but not for everyone. Only for those who started working early, ie between 17 and 20 years old. For the others, who started later, it’s still 62 years old like today.
Then there are the conditions for receiving a full pension. Marine Le Pen varies them according to the age of entry into working life. Between 17 and 20 years, it will be 40 annuities only. That is two years less than with the current rules. With entry into working life at 22, it will take 41 years to leave with a full pension. At 24 and a half, it will be 42 annuities, one year less than the Touraine reform provides for the generation born in 1973.
The candidate estimates her reform at 9.6 billion euros in additional expenditure per year from 2027. She also promises to revalue small pensions to 1,000 euros and to restore the half-share of widows and widowers, abolished under the Holland quinquennium. Finally, she keeps the special diets while her opponent promises to remove them.