The Retirement Orientation Council (COR) is preparing to submit a report whose main elements are already known, and confirm the obvious: if we want to preserve our retirement system, it will have to be fundamentally transformed. Work until age 67 for generations born after 2003, increase in contributions, reduction in pensions… the reform has become a necessity in an aging society. In 2070, France will, according to INSEE, be less populated. There will be 21 million people over 65, that is to say between a quarter and a third of the total population. This diagnosis, not the most pleasing for those who know the importance of the birth rate for the vitality of a country, is not new.
However, we have learned in recent years: pension reform, whether it involves changing the system itself or the retirement age, will automatically make anyone who ventures into it unpopular. This is undoubtedly why this theme is currently very discreet in public debate. On the right and in the center, we have in mind the bitter failure of Emmanuel Macron, forced to step back after the dissolution of 2024. On the left, we still dream of a status quo, even of a return of the starting age to 60, in a populism that does not speak its name.
Risk of collapse
However, the COR and INSEE have reminded us in recent days: we are now faced with reality. Without reform, our pension system risks collapsing in the coming years, further increasing the debt already burdening our country’s budget. In this context, it is urgent that the many putative candidates and their staffs agree to open their eyes and confront this subject in truth. It is not forbidden to expect political leaders to be courageous.
