nukesafe

I just saw a news article that Hollande has fulfilled he campaign promise to lower the retirement age in France to 60. Is that going to help you Kerouac? I understood you plan retirement soon, anyway.

Carlux

Please note that this is not for ALL French workers, only those who began early and have contributed for a long time.

Dukey1

define "early" and "long time"

Pvoyageuse

Early ; those who started working at 16, 17 or 18
Long time : those who have worked 41 years.

They will be able to retire at 60 - which was the case under the previous Presidents.
Those who believed Hollande's electoral promises (retirement at 60 for all) have been had....

hetismij2

Actually that seems a very reasonable idea. Generally those are the people who work at physically demanding jobs.

Here the retirement age is currently 65 and will be going up gradually to 67 over the coming years. No time off for starting work early. Also most companies are doing away with early retirement schemes, simply because they are unaffordable now. people who have spent their lives in the building trades, road workers, metal workers etc all face a difficult time here as their bodies give up after 40 odd years of hard physical slog, while their pension is still years away.

As for everyone retiring at 60 - who's going to pay for them? There aren't the vast numbers of young people to pay taxes and support the huge bulge of oldies. Plus young people today have less feeling of solidarity so are less inclined to pay more taxes and contributions to support their elders.

flanneruk

Gosh. That's really going to help the Eurozone crisis.

And France's international competitiveness. What an odd coincidence they should announce it three days before the parliamentary elections.

As always with the French Left. Faced with the need to take tough decisions, duck it. Bribe the electorate instead.

Pvoyageuse

"That's really going to help the Eurozone crisis."

Read the above. It won't change much to the present situation as few people are concerned.

ira

Hey flann,

>Gosh. That's really going to help ... France's international competitiveness.<

I expect it will.

It will open up some jobs to young people - which is a definite plus.

flanneruk

"It won't change much to the present situation as few people are concerned."

Neither will any other give-away, taken by itself. But - as with the buffoon who preceded Hollande - trivial gestures like this demonstrate the President's priorities.

While Europe's grown up countries impose fiscal discipline, the perennial net recipients of EU handouts dole out still more in the certain knowledge their voters can be bought.

Americans like ira, of course, just love the higher taxes on French employers Hollande's mandated. Makes 'em even less able to compete on the international market.

Pvoyageuse

Sarkozy actually RAISED the retirement age in France and it certainly did not gain him more votes. Hollande has not and will not lower it.
If I were you and considering the low popularity rating and the various scandals which have hit your Prime Minister, I would refrain from calling foreign Heads of State "buffoons".

kerouac

I am not sure yet if I will be affected. I think it will possibly reduce my obligatory period of "unemployment" before I qualify for "full retirement." Frankly, I have been very pleased over the last six months to see about 10 new young people joining the company to replace the older people (with high salaries) who took the payout program. They are enthusiastic, they are fast, they are so much better than those of us who have been there for more than 30 years -- and they are doing everything for half the salary.