The government is considering modifying the pension increase granted to parents who have raised at least three children. Currently, this provision increases their pension by 10%, regardless of the initial pension amount. The Minister of Labor, Jean-Pierre Farandou, is preparing a reform within the framework of the 2027 Social Security budget to ensure that this support benefits mothers more.
The number of beneficiaries is roughly comparable between women and men, but the increase provides a greater benefit to fathers since their pensions are on average higher. According to the ministry, men thus receive nearly two-thirds of the funds allocated by the pension system to this family-related measure. This situation is considered unfair given the career breaks and part-time work more frequently experienced by women.
The details of the reform still need to be decided.
The government maintains that the goal is not to reduce spending, but to better allocate existing funds to those with small pensions and those with more fragmented career paths. Several options could be considered, such as converting the proportional increase into a fixed sum or capping it. However, no specific mechanism has yet been officially adopted.
This reform will be examined in a particularly tense budget debate. The possible de-indexing of certain pensions is also still being discussed, without a final decision. Jean-Pierre Farandou is also reserved about proposals to reduce social security contributions to bring net pay closer to gross pay, believing that such a reduction would necessarily have to be offset by another tax revenue stream.
