A thorny issue for many years, France’s pension system is back in the spotlight as President Emmanuel Macron prepares his final grand act before new elections in April.
Macron had plans to change France’s pension system, where workers can retire at 62, before the coronavirus pandemic hit. However, he was forced to put his plans on hold to deal with the health and subsequent economic crises.
With less than a year to go before French voters head to the polls, Macron is considering reviving his plans and make good on his 2017 promise to reform the pension system, albeit in a different format.
Speaking in June, Macron said: “I do not think that the reform as it was originally envisaged can go ahead as such,” according to Reuters.
In its pre-Covid format, the pension reform included raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 and creating a universal points-based system that would replace the dozens of sector-specific regimes that are currently in place, which mean that some workers can retire earlier than others.
