The minimum French pension should not be lower that the interprofessional minimum wage (SMIC) in France, according to French Communist Party (PCF) national secretary Fabien Roussel.

Speaking on BFM TV today, 19 August, Roussel said: “The minimum pension should not be lower than the SMIC.”

The SMIC is the minimum hourly wage in France, which is reviewed every year, usually on 1 January. It currently stands at €10.03 an hour, according to the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, and worth around €1,521.22 for 151.67 hours work - around a month’s full time work.

In an interview with Jean-Jacques Bourdin, Roussel also said that if the PCF were to reform pensions, it would allow workers to leave at 60 to make room for young people, and it would also guarantee good pensions.

His comments come as President Emmanuel Macron is attempting to reform the current pension system and increase the retirement age from 62 to 64. Under plans by the government, only when French citizens reach 64 would they be allowed to receive a full state pension.

The government special adviser on pension reform, Jean-Paul Delevoye, said in a report last month that workers would still be able to retire at 62, as promised by Macron in his campaign, but they would have to work two years extra to receive the full pension without any discount in the new system, which is due to take effect from 2025.

The government hopes the reform can simplify the French pension system and unify 42 different schemes into a single points-based system.

With the number of savers using private pension plans in France low, the government is also launching new retirement savings products, designed to increase participation. In July, the French government approved the creation of three new retirement savings products, which will be available from 1 October 2019.

As reported in Le Progres, the Ministry of Economy and Finance revealed the products will consist of two corporate retirement savings products. The first is a collective product open to all employees, which is intended to replace the current savings plans for collective retirement (Perco). The second will be a product that is only available for certain categories of employees, replacing the article 83 product.

The third product is a product for individuals, in which the contracts must be opened in the form of a securities account or insurance contract.

The government said that currently savings products are underdeveloped by around €230bn, compared to €1,700bn in life insurance and €400bn for Booklet A and the Sustainable Development and Solidarity Booklet (LDDS).

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