No more half measures! While the government initially planned an increase limited to 0.8% in January, followed by a second increase in July only for small pensions, it is ultimately a single increase which will apply to all retirees from 2025. This 2.2% increase will represent on average an additional 400 euros over the year.
Concretely, a retiree receiving the average pension of 1,512 euros net monthly will see their income increase to 1,545 euros, i.e. a monthly gain of 33 euros. For higher pensions, such as that of 2,000 euros net, the monthly bonus will reach 44 euros, totaling an annual gain of 528 euros. Even the most modest will have an increase: a pension of 1,000 euros will be increased by 22 euros per month.
The big winners of the political crisis
This unexpected revaluation is the direct consequence of the fall of the government. In the absence of a Social Security financing bill (PLFSS), the Social Security Code automatically applies. A situation which benefits retirees since the revaluation will be modeled on real inflation, measured between November 2023 and October 2024.
The measure concerns all basic schemes : the CNAV for private sector employees, the SRE for state civil servants, the CNRACL for local authority agents, and the CNAVPL for the liberal professions. The first revalued payments will be effective from February 2025.
A little breath of oxygen
This increase comes at the right time for retirees, whose purchasing power is being severely tested by inflation. The Ministry of the Economy confirmed this revaluation on December 10. Although this increase remains lower than that of January 2024 which was 5.3%it nevertheless represents an improvement in the purchasing power of seniors.
The automatic application of the Social Security Code will have significant repercussions on public finances. This generalized revaluation will represent an additional expense estimated at more than 6 billion euros for the State. A substantial amount which was not anticipated in the initial budget projections.
The retirees’ unions, who have been campaigning for months for a more substantial increase, welcome this development. They nevertheless emphasize that this increase will only partially offset the increase in the cost of living observed in recent years, particularly in the food and energy sectors which have a strong impact on the budgets of seniors.
- Government censorship results in an automatic 2.2% increase in retirement pensions on January 1, 2025
- The average gain amounts to 400 euros per year for the 17 million French retirees
- The first upgraded payment will be effective in February 2025
