Antoine Foucher proposes freezing French pensions although the President of the Republic is opposed to it. Even Thomas Cazenave shares this idea. But what is it really?
Pension deindexation: what is it exactly?
The former chief of staff of Muriel Pénicaud at the Ministry of Labor, Antoine Foucher, pleads in favor of a pension freeze. Although this measure is not validated by the President of the Republic, it is supported by the Minister Delegate in charge of Public Accounts, Thomas Cazenave.
We are talking here about the end of automatic indexation of pensions to inflation. As you will have understood, this possible measure is similar to a deindexation of pensions in France, i.e. a total freezing of pensions. In the event of a revaluation of pensions, this would be lower than inflation. This underindexing would reduce the public deficit.
For Antoine Foucher, this measure should apply to the wealthiest retirees in France. “We no longer have a choice, our debt is such that the cost of interest on the debt will exceed the National Education budget in two or three years: 60 billion euros per year”. Remember that this politician has already contributed to various reforms at the start of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency.
According to him, the weight of the debt risks hampering the State’s investment capacity in education, in reindustrialization and in the energy transition. In other words, it can jeopardize the future of the country.
The President of the Republic is opposed to this possible under-indexing!
Emmanuel Macron does not support this measure of under-indexing or de-indexing pensions. Thomas Cazenave was also reframed on March 6 in the Council of Ministers. According to the latter, there will be a debate on this subject as part of the 2025 draft budget. The delegate minister recalls that the increase in basic retirement pensions of 5.3% in January had cost more than 14 billion dinars. euros.
These days, political debates on retirement pensions are heated. According to polls, the participation rate of people over 65during elections, turns out to be higher.
For the record, Emmanuel Macron had planned a partial step back on the increase in the CSG (generalized social contribution) at the end of 2018. Obviously, this measure was deployed in response to the movement of “yellow vests”. let’s remember that this increase has been in effect since 1er January of this year for some retirees.
For supporters of under-indexing or de-indexing, this measure should apply to retirees leading a standard of living above the average working person. And, this includes both working French people and job seekers.
According to a document presented on February 16, 2023 to Retirement guidance council (COR), this superiority is weakening. In 2019, the average standard of living of retirees was at €2,132 per monthcompared to €2,099 for active people.
Still according to the COR, income from assets is more important for French retirees compared to those of active people. In fact, these ex-employees and ex-workers have more substantial assets.
