French Minister of the Economy Roland Lescure stated that the question of the contribution of wealthy retirees deserves to be raised for the 2027 budget.
Lescure advocated for a pension revaluation that is lower than inflation, provided that the most modest retirees are preserved. He suggested that wealthy retirees could contribute to the recovery effort, for example through a more moderate indexation of their pensions.
La question de la contribution des retraités aisés mérite d’être posée
Mechanism and Precedents
The mechanism of under-indexation consists of revaluing basic retirement pensions at a level lower than inflation, contrary to what is normally provided by law.
The government of Sébastien Lecornu had previously attempted to freeze pensions in its initial 2026 budget proposal to generate nearly 3.6 billion euros, but the measure was not adopted by Parliament. Michel Barnier, the predecessor of François Bayrou, proposed a more moderate measure consisting of a six-month postponement of pension revaluation.
Political Reactions
French Socialist deputy and presidential candidate Jérôme Guedj did not rule out under-indexation, provided it is part of a broader effort targeting inheritances, corporate 'social niches', and AI giants.
Retirees must not be a taboo to redress Social Security accounts
