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We have just experienced a historic year in more than one way. On the political side, instability is undoubtedly the key word of 2023, to the great misfortune of Emmanuel Macron. His Prime Minister, Michel Barnier, is no longer (following censorship) and sees his plan to freeze pension increases fall through.
The appointment of François Bayrou as head of government is not bad news for retirees. The latter does not have time to complete a budget for 2025 and must therefore accept the logical revaluation of retirement pensions for the month of January. A turn of events which is to the advantage of our senior friends.
Pensions: behind the censorship, good news
Before censorship, Michel Barnier and his family explained on television sets to what extent such a situation would be catastrophic for the country's finances. Indeed, France would start the year without a budget.
Obviously, we are not in the dark. To tell the truth, we are simply resuming the budget for the year 2024, while waiting for changes from the new government. Thus, with the censorship, Michel Barnier's last hopes regarding his budgetary proposals vanished.
To have
Retirees: everything you need to know about pension changes, Agirc-Arrco, employment
Among these, an unpopular measure aimed to delay the revaluation of retirement pensions until July 2025, instead of January as provided for by legislation. This idea, which made it possible to make savings, above all aroused strong parliamentary opposition.
Faced with criticism, the government then opted for a compromise. Rather than freezing pensions, he proposed reducing the revaluation by half. The most precarious retirees would benefit, in July, from a second increase. However, this hybrid solution did not concern all retirees, leaving some with a one-time modest increase.
A total revaluation for retirees
Censorship swept away these progressive adjustments. Thus, from January 1, 2025, retirement pensions will benefit from an increase in accordance with the law, an increase of 2.2%. This automatic adjustment is based on the evolution of inflation over the previous twelve months.
This increase guarantees the maintenance of the purchasing power of retirees in 2025. No French person is left behind. All seniors, regardless of how much they earn, will therefore receive a little more money each month.
However, although positive, this measure remains insufficient in the eyes of the unions. The latter are calling for pensions to be indexed to wages rather than to inflation.arguing that this would provide better protection against the rising cost of living.
To have
Pension increase officially confirmed in January: the amount of the increase and those affected
A new budgetary challenge in 2025
If this revaluation brings a certain stability for 2025, it does not resolve the fundamental questions on the financing of pensions. The unions, notably the CGT and the CFDT, insist on the need to rethink the pension indexation model. According to them, the current method (which is based on inflation) does not sustainably guarantee the purchasing power of retirees.
For 2025, the government will have to present a new budget capable of rallying a parliamentary majority. A new failure could further weaken Emmanuel Macron and his Prime Minister, François Bayrou. The latter will have to juggle between preserving public accounts and managing the expectations of the French, a difficult balance to achieve.
