France revises retirement to 60 for some workers

ARIS, Wednesday

France’s new Socialist government has rolled back an emblematic reform of Nicolas Sarkozy’s administration with a decree lowering the retirement age from 62 to 60 for some workers, a minister said.

The decree, reducing the age limit for people who begin their careers at the age of 18, was agreed on at a cabinet meeting, Social Affairs Minister Marisol Touraine told reporters as she left the meeting.

It will be finalised before the end of the month before being published in France’s official gazette.

Next year around 110,000 people are expected to benefit from the measure at an estimated cost of 1.1 billion euros, an amount expected to rise to 3.0 billion euros a year by 2017, she said.

Up to six months of unemployment and six months of maternity leave can be included in the calculation of the amount of time a worker has to pay into pension funds to benefit from retirement at 60, Touraine said.

This system means that “women who worked and who had children will not be penalised in the calculation of their pension”, she said, adding that the project will be financed by a rise in workers and employer contributions.