The pension reform project is facing fierce opposition, not only from politicians, but also from public opinion. In addition to the postponement of the legal age of departure to 64 from the current 62, several elements of the script are the subject of heavy criticism. Her detractors particularly criticize her for the inequality between men and women, to the detriment of the latter.
7 months late in relation to the departure age
said the prime minister ” thatIn the future, the end of a woman’s career will occur before the end of a man’s life, which is a true reversal of the trend compared to the previous situation of reform To support this assertion, the government has attached an impact study to the amended Social Security Financing Bill.
However, upon reading this document, which contains projections from the National Old Age Insurance Fund, it appears that female workers experience a marked difference in retirement age compared to their male counterparts. In fact, according to 2020 data, ” The French settled their rights at 62 years and 4 months on average, but with a difference of 7 months by gender, as they retired at 62 years and 7 months, compared to 62 years for men. “.
The impact study also indicates that for the 1972 generation, the average retirement age for women will decline by 9 months on average, 4 months longer than for men.” For workers born in 1980 and later, the same difference is observed, with An additional 8 months for women and 4 months for men.
Reform erases the benefit of maternity rights
According to professionals, this biggest postponement of women is related to the family. Indeed, the arrival of a child leads to a stop or decrease in professional activity for 50% of women and 11% of men. Difficulties in finding custody solutions impose these punishing career adjustments. In contrast, 8 classrooms are allocated, half of which are for maternity or adoption and the other half for education. Since 2010, the quarters awarded for a child’s education can be divided between the parents.
Anyway, these 8 quarters only affect the subscription period. Thus, postponing the retirement age nullifies its effect. The roughly 100,000 women each year who rely on these neighborhoods to complete their careers and leave with a full pension at age 62 will have to stay employed until age 64.
Less impact to take parental leave into account
The Executive also undertakes to take into account the period of parental leave in the Long Career Scheme. However, it will be limited to 4 semesters, and only for people who have entered working life before the age of 20. According to the government’s impact study, the procedure affects only 2,000 or 3,000 women out of a total of 400,000 departures annually, while many more men benefit from it.
The Higher Health Authority revealed that the number of people who retire from work or work part-time to help a sick loved one or lose their independence is 57% of women, starting at the age of 50 overall. This decision has a very negative impact on their salary and later on their pension. The government is therefore planning to introduce old-age insurance so that these carers can validate additional accommodations.
Experts also deplore the invisibility of hardship, both physical and emotional, in some very feminine professions.
There is no improvement in pension inequality despite the reassessment
According to 2022 INSEE data, women are paid 22% less than men on average. These disparities are reflected in their direct pensions, which are 40% lower than those of men. According to the statistics of the Research Department of the Ministry of Labor for retirees in 2020, this gap reached 30%.
A reassessment of minimum pensions will not bring about any significant change on this point. Admittedly, according to the impact study, 60% of the 1.8 million policyholders who would earn a total of €1,200 per month (85% of the minimum wage) subject to a full occupation would be women. But the volume will be lower, with an increase of only 2.2% for the active generation of 1972, when men will have to settle for +0.9%. This represents an additional €53 per month for new retirees despite their two-year career extension.
Keeping the retirement age without deduction at 67
The deduction, which is applied in the event of liquidation of rights with an incomplete profession, punishes the woman more. However, this allowance remains in effect until the age of 67. So they will have to wait until this age to get a full pension.
To supplement their income by leaving before the age of 67 with a reduced pension, some women choose to continue working part-time using the Combined Retirement and Employment Scheme. Wage portage provides them with a secure framework to carry out their activity and represents an interesting alternative to paid work. In fact, even though they are fully independent, they benefit from expanded Social Security coverage similar to that of traditional employees. Visit the website abcportage.fr Learn more about how this growing form of employment works and its benefits.
What are the solutions to reduce inequality between men and women in retirement?
For economists and social observers, reform does not solve the problem of inequality. These can only disappear through comprehensive reflection on roles within the home, corporate practices in terms of hiring and wages, and improved childcare and care arrangements for the sick or dependents.
Reducing wage gaps and length of employment is key to achieving a certain balance in retirement age and pension amount.
