Having already decided to save small pensions, the government finally seems to have given up. Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Republican Right group (ex-LR) in the Assembly, assured Monday evening that he had found a compromise with the government so that “all pensions” are revalued from the “half of inflation” from January 1st. A second catch-up for the smallest would also be on the program six months later. “On July 1, there will be a second increase, this time for the most modest pensions” to “fully protect them from inflation”continued Laurent Wauquiez on TF1 news, specifying that only those “below the minimum wage” would benefit from this second measure.
“On January 1, all pensions will be increased by probably 0.9%, that is to say half of inflation – we will see exactly what the inflation estimate will be. […] And on July 1, 2025, there will be a catch-up for all pensions which are below the level of the minimum wage so that there is no loss of purchasing power.confirmed this Tuesday, November 12 in the morning the Minister of the Budget, Laurent Saint-Martin, on France 2.
Among its savings avenues for 2025, the executive had proposed as part of the examination of its Social Security financing bill to postpone the indexation of pensions by six months (from January 1 to July 1). on inflation, with the aim of saving around four billion euros. A measure criticized from all sides, including those supporting the Barnier coalition in the Assembly.
It is, however, surprising that this announcement comes from the head of the LR deputies and not from Michel Barnier himself. “The Prime Minister is open to compromise. They discussed this subject with Laurent Wauquiez and he will have the opportunity to give details soon”for his part limited himself to responding to the entourage of the head of government to Agence France Presse. At ParisianMatignon only says he has “exchange” with Laurent Wauquiez.
But an LR parliamentary source informed AFP that an amendment to this effect should be tabled during the debates on the Social Security budget in the Senate.
Laurent Wauquiez immediately quantified the benefits of the measure. “For a retiree, caregiver, who receives 1,000 euros of retirement per month […] This will represent a gain over the year of 200 euros,” he said, grateful “modest amounts”. More “for someone who has a small pension it matters”, he justified.
Streamlining the “administrative bureaucracy”
To finance this revaluation, which according to him would cost “between 500 million and 1 billion” euros, the former president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region intends to seek “1 billion” of euros in the rationalization of «bureaucracy administrative», in particular by merging certain organizations such as “France Stratégie”, “the High Planning Commission”, “France 2030”, et “the Center for Prospective Studies”.
“Depending on the reality of inflation, this may vary and we will actually be between 500 and 800 million euros returned to small pensions”calculated this Tuesday morning the Minister of the Budget. On the set of France 2, Laurent Saint-Martin also promised to succeed “in the next few days”, with the EPR (macronist) group in Parliament, “a compromise” pour “that there are fewer savings made on reductions in charges [des entreprises] than what is proposed in the government’s initial copy” for the 2025 budget.
As the Social Security budget could not be examined within the time allocated to the Assembly, it was transmitted to the Senate, which will examine it from Wednesday in committee, then in the hemicycle from November 18 to 23.
Update : at 8:19 a.m., with the addition of the statement from Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin.
