France's Minister of Economy and Finance, Roland Lescure, proposed freezing the highest pensions next year or revaluing them below the rate of inflation as a way of contributing to the reduction of the public deficit. Lescure said that the contribution of the most affluent pensioners through more moderate indexation of their pensions merits consideration, as he expressed on social media in response to criticism about the stalling of pension reform.
France faces growing pressure from pension spending, which absorbs 58 per cent of annual public expenditure. The country closed 2024 with a deficit of 5.1 per cent, the highest in the eurozone after Belgium, and expects to reach 5 per cent in 2025, according to government figures. The aim is to approach a deficit target of 3 per cent by the end of 2029.
Experts estimated that revaluing pensions only at half the rate of inflation, which was 2.1 per cent in July, for those earning more than 3,000 euros gross would allow for the collection of 700 million euros. If applied to beneficiaries with pensions above 2,000 euros, the amount would reach 1,500 million euros.
The French executive was forced to freeze at the beginning of the year the reform that was to delay the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 years after the threat of a no-confidence motion. Measures to contain the cost of pensions are part of the budget adjustment that the Government is shaping for forthcoming public accounts, according to official sources.
David Amiel, vice-minister of Public Accounts, recently assured that the Government intends to meet its responsibility in the budget adjustment before facing the electoral scrutiny of 2027 through measures to reduce public spending.
