What would be the economic effects of raising the retirement age?
In particular, how would it affect unemployment? The Prime Minister has asked the Commissariat général du Plan to assess the situation and the prospects of our pension system. In this context, we had to consider a certain number of modifications to ensure the long-term balance of our pension regimes and, in particular, consider extending the period of contribution to obtain a full pension. Such an extension would result — starting in 2005-2010 — in a gradual raising of the retirement age between 60 and 65. This is natural insofar as we know that life expectancy will continue to increase at a rapid pace, the age of entry into the labour force has not ceased to increase and, finally, the health of the over-60s has improved considerably. With regard to the link with unemployment, it is necessary to study carefully the compatibility of this change in the retirement age with the situation on the labour market. It is clear that for the coming years, and at least until 2005, the absolute pr
