The French government plans to start raising the retirement age by three months per year from September 1, 2023, and, thus, increase it from the current 62 years to 64 by 2030, French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne said.
“Starting from September 1, 2023, the official retirement age will be gradually increased by 3 months per year to reach 64 years by 2030. At the end of the five-year presidential term [of President Emmanuel Macron] it will be 63 years and 3 months,” Borne said on Tuesday, while presenting a draft pension reform.
The French prime minister also stressed the need to “maintain a balance” between the number of working citizens and the steadily growing number of pensioners in the country.
The government will index about 2 million pension benefits so that they reach 85% of the subsistence level and amount to 1,200 euros ($1,288) per month for those who have completed the minimum working experience of 43 years required for receiving a pension, Borne added.
The prime minister also said that the reform provided for an earlier retirement for those who had started working at an early age. In addition, the bill assumes that maternity leave for women will also be included in the calculation of working years, while so far it has not been taken into account.
A number of opposition politicians, including Marine Le Pen, the leader of the right-wing National Rally faction in the French parliament, and Jean-Luc Melenchon, the leader of the left-wing La France Insoumise party, have already pledged to block a vote on the bill in the French parliament.
Borne did not rule out that in order to pass the law, the French government could invoke Article 49.3 of the country’s constitution that allows a reform to be adopted directly, without a vote.
In September, over 250,000 people across France participated in demonstrations against the pension reform, while demanding a rise in the minimum wage.
