France's pension watchdog proposes desindexing pensions through 2030

The French Committee for Monitoring Pensions has revived a controversial proposal to curb pension increases by desindexing them from inflation until 2030. The plan calls for reducing the annual revaluation of pensions by at least two points, meaning retirees’ payments would grow more slowly than consumer prices. The committee warns that, without rapid measures, the pension system could become unsustainable as early as 2045.

Beyond 2030, the experts suggest a broader framework that would include a financial‑balance “golden rule”, an automatic sustainability coefficient, and a reference trajectory for the retirement age, overseen by a new alert committee. Critics argue that the desindexation amounts to a hidden tax on roughly 17 million retirees, estimating a loss of about €150 per year for a €1,500 pension if inflation stays near 2 %. They also note that France’s pension spending reaches 14 % of GDP—well above Germany (10 %) and the Netherlands (7 %)—and call for deeper reforms of public spending and the pension system’s structure rather than shifting the burden onto beneficiaries.