Why the French state pension is about to bring down Macron.

 

French Protests Against Pension Reform

The French are up in arms because the French government wants to increase the state retirement age from 62 to 64 years of age. The pension reform could result in Emmanuel Macron being slung out of office.

The French state retirement pension pays around £292 a week or 74% of final salary. Looking at the data (see link ) the British state retirement pension is among one of the lowest in Europe. Those in receipt of the UK old state pension now receive the princely sum of £169.50 a week. The new state UK pension is currently £221.20 a week and a bit more generous.

Unlike the French, the British public and their moderate trade union leaders, have acquiesced and accepted lower state pensions and an increase in the state retirement age. Women no longer retire at 60 but must now work till they are 66, in line with the male retirement age. The government is also going to increase the state retirement age to 67. In contrast, my middle-class overpaid Oxford educated GP, called Tim, who I have never been able to see as a patient, recently retired at the age of 60.

A higher state retirement age means that many manual workers are unlikely to live long enough to receive a UK state pension. They often suffer ill health, disability and industrial disease, because of their occupations. Although industrial ill health is a major killer in Tameside and throughout Greater Manchester, work doesn't carry a government health warning like cigarettes. Indeed, many doctors tell us that work is good for us, even though they know little or nothing about the industrial world of work.

Despite lower state pensions in the UK and a higher retirement age, many British politicians have said that the 'triple-lock' on state retirement pensions is unsustainable because Britain can't afford it. Yet, British politicians enjoy one of the most generous and lavish pension schemes in the world. After being slung out of office after only 50 days, the incompetent and inept, Liz Truss, received a life time annual pension of £125,000 paid to all ex-prime ministers.