Some retirees will be the only ones whose pension will increase from January 1, 2025 – here's how to be one of them

While the government has postponed the increase in retirement pensions planned for January 2025, some retirees will still see their income increase.

The budget cuts decided by the government do not spare retirees. While 17 million retirees affiliated to the general system were to see their retirement pension increased on January 1, 2025, the executive chose to postpone this increase until the following July 1. This temporary freeze on the increase in pensions thus deprives millions of retirees of an increase in income.

Indeed, at the start of each year, retirement pensions are normally reevaluated according to the level of inflation recorded the previous year. Since between January and December 2024, the inflation rate should be on average at 1.8% according to INSEE, retirees could therefore have seen their pension increase by 1.8%. Concretely, a senior who receives a retirement pension of 1,470 euros net, i.e. the average amount of retirement pensions in France, should have earned 26 euros more per month.

However, many retirees won't have to wait until July to see an increase in their income. Indeed, for them, their remuneration will increase from January 1, 2025 as planned. This government announcement received little media coverage although it concerns around 801,000 retirees. These will indeed see their monthly payments increase by 1.8%.

These are retirees who benefit from the solidarity allowance for the elderly (ASPA) and the minimum old age allowances (ASV). These allowances are intended for the poorest elderly people. Although it is not a retirement pension strictly speaking, these social benefits constitute, for the people who benefit from them, the majority of their income.

If these social benefits are revalued by 1.8%, it is because, like retirement pensions, all social benefits are revalued each year according to the rate of inflation recorded the previous year. Thus, the Active Solidarity Income (RSA), personalized housing assistance (APL), or the activity bonus will be increased by 1.8% in 2025. The ASPA and ASV are no exception to this rule .

Taking into account the 1.8% revaluation of all social benefits planned for 2025, the average amount of ASPA should therefore reach around 520 euros, while that of ASV will be around 425 euros. The beneficiaries of these allowances will therefore keep their increase on the usual date, regardless of the final decision of Parliament concerning the general postponement of the adjustments. This situation in fact creates a two-speed system in the adjustment of pensions for the year 2025, reflecting complex trade-offs between budgetary constraints and protection of the most vulnerable. The government's proposal continues to be debated, while the text must still be examined by parliamentarians.