The file has been reopened suddenly. In announcing on Monday November 11 the revaluation of pensions in line with inflation in two stages next year, Laurent Wauquiez, head of the Republican Right deputies, has put this controversial measure of the draft social security budget back on the agenda. Guest speaker on France 2 on Tuesday November 12, Laurent Saint-Martin, the French Minister for Public Accounts, explained the details of the compromise reached between the government and its allies in the Hemicycle. Le Figaro summarizes what we know about this measure.

What does this new version contain?

Originally, the executive’s plan was to shift the revaluation of retirement pensions from January 1, 2025 to July 2025. This was a significant cost-saving measure, but was contested by several political groups, both left and right. An agreement was finally reached between Gabriel Attal’s troops and those of Laurent Wauquiez.

According to the explanations of the strong man of the right, the revalorisation of pensions will finally take place in two stages. The first stage, at half the rate of inflation, i.e. around 0.9%, according to the figure put forward by Laurent Saint-Martin, will take effect on January 1, 2025 for all basic pensions. This will affect all seventeen million French pensioners. A second increase will take place in July 2025, as originally planned by Michel Barnier’s government, on the “small pensions.

Who will be affected by this second increase?

The second increase on July 1 will affect “the most modest pensions for “fully protect them from inflation”.said Laurent Wauquiez on TF1’s JT news channel, adding that only those with “below the minimum wage would benefit from this second salvo. “It’s a reference that will speak to all French people, and I’m happy to take it up again.”confirmed Michel Barnier on Tuesday, referring to the smic “net.

This new version “that there is no loss of purchasing power and that it is the equivalent of a year indexed to full inflation for these retirees”.said the French Minister of Public Accounts. “For a retired caregiver receiving a pension of 1,000 euros a month (…) this will represent a gain of 200 euros over the year”.said Laurent Wauquiez, acknowledging that “modest amounts. But “for someone with a small pension it counts”he justified.

According to the executive, a minority of pensioners should be “protected”. “This concerns nearly half of retirees, 44%, to be exact.”said Michel Barnier.

How much will this measure cost?

Michel Barnier’s 6-month postponement of pension increases was initially intended to save 4 billion euros. The new formula favored by the Republicans has forced the government to revise its calculations downwards. The cost will be “between 500 and 800 million euros, according to Bercy. The expense will vary “according to the reality of inflation”.Laurent Saint-Martin explained on France 2. Suspended to price growth, the savings linked to this measure should ultimately amount to around 3 billion euros.

To finance this increase in value, the former president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region intends to seek out “1 billion” in the rationalization of the “administrative bureaucracyby merging organizations such as “France Stratégie, “the High Commission for Planning, “France 2030”and “Center for Prospective Studies.

What are the chances of this measure being implemented?

As the Social Security budget could not be examined within the allotted time in the Assemblée, it has been sent to the Sénat, which will examine it from Wednesday in committee, then in the hemicycle from November 18 to 23. An amendment will be tabled during the debates in the upper house to ensure that this increase in retirement pensions takes effect on January 1, 2025. Parliamentarians will then have to agree to vote on it. If the amendment is rejected, Michel Barnier could well use Article 49.3 to force the text through.