Overview
- France’s pensions council, which on Monday commissioned new modeling from the Treasury, the OFCE and the Paris School of Economics, is probing fixes for a pay‑as‑you‑go system now in deficit and projected to widen through 2030.
- La Dépêche reports that Bercy favors raising the legal retirement age to 65, estimating yearly savings of roughly €8–10 billion once the change is fully in force.
- The COR and the Cour des comptes argue that pushing the age higher is the only option that balances the system without hitting growth, with studies pointing to as many as 142,000 extra jobs and up to 0.5 point more GDP.
- While the broader reform is on hold, the legal age stays frozen at 62 years and nine months until 2028, and a draft decree on early exits for long careers takes effect September 1, 2026, with cohort‑specific rules that could shift departure dates by a few months for about 120,000 people each year.
- Forecasts cited in the coverage put the shortfall at €1.7 billion in 2024 and around €5 billion mid‑decade, and the 2027 presidential race is set to decide the path forward as parties pitch plans from a higher age to duration‑only rules or a return to 60 with 40 years of contributions.