When it comes to pensions, there is no alternative: new ” efforts ” will have to be done in order to bring the system’s finances back into balance. This is the message – devoid of surprise – that the Court of Auditors delivers in a briefing note released Thursday, October 21. If several solutions exist to tighten the screw, the high court dwells a little more on the hypothesis of a reduction in the age from which the insured claim the payment of their pension. This politically explosive track converges with the idea defended by Emmanuel Macron that“We will have to work longer”, without it being clear yet whether the President of the Republic wants to implement it under the current legislature or to make it a theme of the 2022 presidential campaign.
The document released Thursday is part of a first series of ” works ” aiming to present “The main challenges facing public decision-makers”. The magistrates of the rue Cambon in Paris intend to participate in the collective reflection on “Essential structural issues” : justice, universities, police, etc. “We are in a period when reductive words, cartoonish announcements, even disinformation flourish, explains Pierre Moscovici, the first president of the Court of Auditors, in an interview with Parisian from Thursday. In this context, the citizens’ choice needs to be supported by objective, quantified elements established by a trusted third party. “
Although it has undergone five major reforms since 1993, the pension system still faces funding problems that have been “Accentuated” by the health crisis: in 2020, the deficit reached “13 billion euros” (taking into account an exceptional allocation of 5 billion brought by the Reserve Fund to the general regime) and it is likely, according to the Court, to continue “At least for another ten years” if no large-scale action is taken.
To fill the “hole”, new resources could be released by increasing contributions, but the authors of the synthesis consider that “Leeway” are restricted, ” France [ayant] already the highest rate of compulsory levy in the European Union “. In this context, it is preferable – according to the high court – to act on the expenses. Multiple levers can be operated: push back “The age of entitlement” – that is to say the age at which individuals can request payment of their pension -, increase the period of activity required to benefit from a full pension, play on the rules for calculating or revaluing sums paid, etc.
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