Supplementary pensions for former private sector employees will be increased by 4.9% from November 1, in line with inflation, announced the trade union and employer organizations managing the Agirc-Arrco scheme, which have yet to sign the agreement. picked up on the night of Thursday October 5.
The “malus”, a temporary reduction of 10% which has applied since 2019 to the pensions of many retirees who left having met all the legal conditions, will be eliminated from December 1 for new retirees, then from April for all the retirees concerned, they indicated. Without definitively promising to sign, several organizations including the CFDT and the Medef judged the agreement “balanced”. The deadline to sign the agreement was set for Wednesday.
Between 2024 and 2026, the revaluation of pensions could be less: depending on the economic situation, the increase could be under-indexed by a maximum of 0.4 points below inflation. But the board of directors of the joint body may choose to bring it back to the level of inflation.
The “penalty”, introduced in 2019, aimed to encourage employees to work one more year, even though they had met all the legal conditions to leave. Otherwise, they saw their pension cut by 10% for three years. A bonus was granted for two to four years of additional work. It will be kept for those who are not affected by the reform.
In addition to this draft agreement, unions and employers have also shown a common front in the face of the executive’s desire to drain Agirc-Arrco’s reserves, which FO negotiator Michel Beaugas considers to be a “misappropriation of funds” . The executive is demanding one to three billion annually from Agirc-Arrco by 2030, which it first presented as participation in the increase in the contributory minimum (small pensions) provided for by its pension reform, to finally mention a duty of “solidarity” between regimes with a view to an overall “return to balance”. Otherwise, he threatens to help himself to the cash registers. He argues the good financial health of the system, its 68 billion in reserves, and the new revenues brought by the pension reform (estimated by Agirc-Arrco at 22 billion over fifteen years).
According to the unions, such a drain would jeopardize Agirc-Arrco, and its ability to increase pensions in the future. According to a source close to the matter, one billion is equivalent to 1.1% revaluation. The scheme also operates with a “golden rule” which requires keeping six months of advance payments in reserve, over a period of 15 years. “We all resist. We refuse to sign a check to the government,” summarized Christelle Thieffinne (CFE-CGC).
The social partners have chosen not to provide any “financial pipeline to the State” in their agreement. But an article provides for the launch of work aimed at internal “solidarity” measures within the regime, via a working group, with a view to a new agreement by the end of the first half of 2024. The CPME regretted to the urges that this article does not directly refer to small pensions. The social partners were looking for a solution “so that it only goes to those who have less than 85% of the minimum wage and depend on the Agirc Arrco”, not the general regime, explained Pascale Coton (CFTC).
“Despite pressure from the executive during this negotiation, the social partners moved forward together,” rejoiced Medef negotiator Diane Milleron-Deperrois. “We have a balance between preserving the purchasing power of retirees and the financial sustainability of the system over time”, negotiated “independently”. “If the government persists it will have to bear responsibility,” she said.
Agirc-Arrco pays nearly 90 billion euros each year to 13 million retirees. This additional part represents between 20% of the total pension for precarious employees and 60% for certain executives.