Three years after the 2020 project aimed at completely overhauling our pension system with a points system, the new government only retains in this new bill the “parametric” dimension of the reform in order to save money. If the spirit of the reform has changed, the government is holding the same speech as in 2020 consisting in praising its merits for women. However, as in 2020, his arguments stumble on the reality of their situation at the time of retirement.
Among the elements presented as favorable to women in the new bill, three are essentially put forward: the maintenance of the age of cancellation of the discount, the revaluation of small pensions to €1,200 and better consideration quarters of parental leave.
An element overlooked
On the other hand, the government ignores an element which means that this reform will constitute a setback for many women with children (nearly 9 out of 10 women in France). The scheme for increasing the duration of insurance (MDA) linked to the birth of children, which aims to reduce inequalities between women and men, has in fact seen its benefits greatly reduced by the reform. A large number of women who could have retired at age 62 by having quarters validated for the births of their children (up to 2 years per child in the private sector) will have to wait until age 64 to liquidate their retirement, if although some or all of their child MDA will no longer be of any use to them.
The MDA for children constitutes a central mechanism for taking into account the unequal distribution of domestic and parental time between parents and the fact that women’s careers are profoundly modified at the time of birth (interruptions, reduction in working time, less progress in associated careers, lower salaries).
Putting weight on women
The impact study confirms this effect since women will have to raise their retirement age much more than men. If this lengthening of the duration of insurance will allow them, still according to the impact study, to receive slightly higher pensions, it has the consequence of making the majority of the savings targeted by this reform weigh on women.
Let us now come to the three arguments put forward by the government, supposedly favorable to women’s pensions. Concerning the maintenance of the age of cancellation of the discount at 67 years, it should be remembered that more women are indeed waiting for this age to liquidate their retirement (19% against 10% of men). This is linked to the fact that women have more choppy careers and therefore find it more difficult to reach the number of quarters necessary for a full pension. To avoid suffering a reduction in the amount of their pension, which is already lower than that of men, more of them wait until they are 67 years old. On this first point, the government is therefore simply trying to pass off the status quo as a step forward…
Figures far from reality
The second argument put forward by the government concerns the increase in the minimum pension, called the contributory minimum. The figure widely relayed in the media is that of an increase to €1,200 gross per month (ie an increase of €100 following the reform). These figures are very far from the reality of the increases in pensions that we can hope for, in particular for women who are more numerous in the system of the minimum contributory given the low level of their pensions.
It should indeed be remembered that the minimum pension is calculated in proportion to the duration of insurance (validated or contributed) and that the beneficiaries of this minimum pension very often have incomplete careers. According to the impact study, the increase in pension for women beneficiaries of this minimum will therefore be on average €38 per month, which is certainly more than for men (€25), but remains very far from the 100 € advertised.
Very limited effects
Finally, the last argument concerns the taking into account of quarters of parental leave in long careers and in the calculation of the minimum pension. These changes are indeed advances. Nevertheless, their effects are extremely limited either in terms of amount, as evidenced by the quite relative increase of €38 in the minimum contribution which is partly linked to this consideration, or in terms of the number of beneficiaries. The inclusion of quarters of parental leave in the long career scheme only concerns 2,000 women per year.
All in all, this reform therefore in no way reverses the massive pension gaps between women and men, which are 40% in 2020, with an average pension of €1,154 for women compared to €1,930 for men. The reform also reduces the impact of a system that contributes to reducing inequalities between women and men in retirement by taking into account their unequal investment in parental and domestic tasks, and brings improvement only in part female minor.
Inequalities in retirement reflect those suffered by women in the professional and family spheres throughout their lives. The best way to fight against inequalities in retirement is to carry out voluntary reforms to eliminate those that punctuate the lives of women: they must be carried out before any reduction in the compensation provided for them in our pension system.
:quality(85)//cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/JVCB24WY3JBZBNGWP5TXKNWKTE.jpg)
