A disappointment! “Relative,” certainly, in the words of 
In its latest report—the fifth devoted to the subject of pensions in just over a year—the Idea think tank does not want to remake the game. It analyses the 12 measures retained in the two bills tabled by the government, bills 8640 and 8634 through five criteria: financial balance, intergenerational equity, social equity, competitiveness and flexibility. “Proposals for improvement submitted to deputies.”
2028 in sight
Proposals that, according to 
Proposals that aim, above all, to fuel the debate in the Chamber of Deputies and, in particular, to prepare for the next electoral debate in 2028. The foundation believes that it is imperative for politicians to appear before the public at that time with specific plans that will enable the new government, from 2029, “to embark on genuine structural reform with a clear mandate to guarantee intergenerational equity and the fiscal sustainability of the pensions system”.
The key points of this reform will be the development of benefits and the sharing of the burden between working people and pensioners. These are two key issues that were carefully avoided during social negotiations and that do not feature in the reform process. “The effort made by current pensioners is very low at the moment compared with what will be asked of working people.”
The reform [relies] solely on current and future working people, in contradiction with any quest for intergenerational fairness.
Correcting the weaknesses of the government’s plan
What is the substance of the Idea Foundation’s proposals? 12 amendments, the aim of which is “to correct the two main weaknesses of the proposed package, namely the lack of progressive measures to redress the pension system’s deficit trajectory; and the lack of cost-saving measures on benefits, which places the reform solely on the shoulders of current and future working people, in contradiction with any quest for intergenerational equity”, sums up Muriel Bouchet, an economist specialising in pensions and a former director and member of the Idea Foundation’s Scientific Council. In her view, the reform package will merely postpone the disappearance of the reserve by four years.
More specifically, increasing the contribution period by eight months by 2030, one of the flagship measures in the package, will have a limited effect in the long term, not least because of the subsequent rise in the average pension. The economist proposes extending this measure to the civil service and, above all, limiting the link between changes in real wages and pension benefits from 2026 while retaining indexation to consumer prices.
Intergenerational equity
“The increase in social contributions from 24% to 25.5% from 2026 will have an immediate positive impact on the financial equilibrium of the pension system. On the other hand, it is essential that experts assess the consequences of such an increase on economic attractiveness and activity, public finances and the purchasing power of working people,” continues Muriel Bouchet. She also calls for two flexibility measures: a tax deduction for people extending their working life to the age of 65, and a phased retirement based on the system in force in the civil service.
The think tank is proposing that deputies make the end-of-year allowance degressive according to income, for social reasons and to ensure fairness between generations. But also to limit the periods of additional study to seven years throughout a career and to gradually increase the minimum pension by 1% a year up to 5%. All this would go hand in hand with the creation of social assistance for the most disadvantaged pensioners. In addition, it believes that the increase in the “provident old age” tax deduction (from €3,200 to €4,500) could be accompanied by a more social deduction and a similar gesture in favour of supplementary occupational pensions.
