France-Supplementary pensions back to the drawing board – Challenges.fr

France-Supplementary pensions back to the drawing board – Challenges.fr

* The fund managers is the first threatened

* According to the Court of Auditors, it takes at least 5.5 billion euros

* A “toolbox” but profound differences

by Emmanuel Jarry

PARIS, Feb. 15 (Reuters) – The future of French supplementary pensions, threatened by an accumulation of deficits, will be from Tuesday to heart a new standoff between employers and unions, including the operating margins are narrower than ever.

The corrective measures decided in March 2013 by the social partners, managers and Arrco Agirc, had only a marginal impact on the erosion of reserves accumulated by these two cases between 1998 and 2008.

Both plans provide 12 million pensioners over 70 billion euros per year and thus ensure their additional income representing between 25% and 50% of their total pension or up to two-thirds of executives.

But if nothing is done the reserves of Agirc, fund managers and the like, will be exhausted in 2018. Those of Arrco, which are affiliated almost all employees in the private sector would suffer the same fate to 2023-2025.

“Put the plan in the shelter of a risk of rupture payment implies taking measures likely to push at least 2030 the exhaustion horizon reserves,” explained the 18 December First President of the Court of Auditors.

“Improving the balance of diets of 5.5 billion euros from 2018 seems reasonable,” added Didier Migaud, which invited the social partners to have no taboo .

If employers and unions share the objective while doubting that it is attainable from 2018, they differ sharply on how to get there.

BOX TOOLS

A working group focused in recent months on a “toolbox” in which negotiators can draw.

This will lower the adjustment of pensions to the decline the legal age for entitlement, to a declining discount on pensions, higher contributions or reduced survivor’s pension rates.

So many tracks including the social partners asked Agirc and Arrco to quantify the impact.

Not surprisingly, employers are categorically opposed to any increase in premiums, a solution advocated instead the CGT in particular for ‘Agirc.

The CGT also believes that equal male-female wage would solve much of the problem by inflating the payroll upon which the dues.

MEDEF defend the postponement of age terminals (currently set at 62 years for the legal retirement age to 67 years for the removal of any discount, as for the basic plan) and the principle of temporary relief.

Two unacceptable tracks by unions. As for the sub-index or freezing of pensions, its effect is limited by the absence of inflation .

The social partners are also divided on merger Agirc- Arrco advocated by the Court of Auditors who sees a way to make savings in administration but is seen by the GSC, in particular, as a questioning of the status of staff.

In any cause, none of the policy assumptions is likely to resolve the problem and the only solution necessarily lies in a combination of measures.

METHOD QUESTION

“It will be a negotiation difficult. There is no good news to wait, “warns Jean-Louis Malys, the CFDT.

Prime Minister, Manuel Valls, put under pressure by employers and unions loading in October the Social Protection Financing High Council to consider a new governance of social security and streamlining the collection of contributions, including those of the AGIRC ARRCO.

rejected initiative, including, FO, which sees the beginnings of a questioning of gender mainstreaming.

The head of the delegation of MEDEF, Claude Tendil, president of Generali France, has for the first time the insurance, what feeds among unions on suspicion of ulterior motives of the first French employers’ organization.

The standoff waited on supplementary pensions finally conceals a battle on the method, rekindled in January by the failure of negotiations on the reform of social dialogue.

The CGT and FO, specifically, have put the outset the question of a place other than the seat of the MEDEF.

According to the head of the delegation of the CGT, Eric Aubin, MEDEF would accept the following sessions are held at the headquarters of the AGIRC ARRCO. (Edited by Yves Clarisse)