September 2019

13Sep

France. Paris traffic gridlock as metro workers strike over pension reform

Paris metro workers walked off the job Friday over plans for a major overhaul of the pension system, sparking huge traffic jams as commuters scrambled to find other ways of getting to work. Ten of the city's 16 metro lines were shut down completely, while service on most others was "extremely disrupted," the city's RATP transit operator said. Massive crowds waited on the platforms of the two automated driverless lines still operating and officials counted nearly 300 kilometres (185...

September 13, 2019
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July 2019

19Jul

Macron to trigger French pensioners crisis as he calls for French to work more

The reform is potentially explosive, with unions having traditionally sent millions of people onto the streets to protest against previous changes to pensions. Mr Macron has been hit by wave after wave of angry, and often violent, protests in the past year. Beginning last November, Gilets Jaunes protestors have shut down major French cities in protest over tax reform and other deeper issues in the country, such as class division. Read more @Express

July 19, 2019
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June 2019

13Jun

France. Macron to Tackle French State Pensions in Mother-of-All-Reforms

France isn’t done with reforms. That’s the core message Prime Minister Edouard Philippe aimed to get across in Parliament Wednesday. “We have reasons to be proud of the work we’ve done and we have the legitimacy to keep going,” Philippe said in a 66-minute speech laying out what he called “Act II” of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency. “We’ve done a lot in the past two years and we need to do a lot more," he added. "Our enemy is the...

June 13, 2019
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May 2019

08May

French insurance sector pension fund announces investment in Scientific Beta low carbon multi-factor indices

Scientific Beta, the smart beta index provider, and SACRA, a pension fund for the French insurance sector, have announced the launch of two low carbon multi-factor indices for the US and Eurozone regions. This move comes as part of SACRA's reorganisation of the management of its equity portfolio. The US equity portfolio, and part of the Eurozone equity allocation, are now invested to track the two multi-factor indices from Scientific Beta. In addition to seeking higher long-term financial returns...

May 8, 2019
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02May

France. Macron still faces a battle to fund his ageing nation

The problem of an ageing population and how to fund pensions and dependency care that has bedevilled previous governments has now landed in President Macron’s lap. It has been estimated that these costs will double in the next 20 years as people live longer and need more support. France has fewer people in work and more and more over-60s – especially over-75-year-olds – needing care. Costs are rising too, as longer lives do not necessarily mean extended healthy lives....

May 2, 2019
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April 2019

26Apr

France. Macron to cut taxes and raising pensions but matching with spending cuts

French President Emmanuel Macron has ordered that further cuts to income tax must be matched euro-for-euro by cuts in public spending to keep the budget deficit from spiralling out of control, his finance minister said on Friday. In his response to months of anti-government protests, Macron said late on Thursday that he would cut income tax further by 5 billion euros (£4.3 billion). "The president has set a principle of which I am the guarantor: each euro of decrease in income...

April 26, 2019
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15Apr

Workers’ Employment Rates And Pension Reforms In France: The Role Of Implicit Labor Taxation

By Didier Blanchet, Antoine Bozio, Simon Rabaté, Muriel Roger Over the last fifteen years, France has experienced a reversal of older workers’ labor force participation and employment rates. Changes in health, life expectancy or education levels over the period are trend variables and thus cannot explain this “U-shaped” time profile. Pension reforms and associated changes in monetary incentives to retire are a more plausible explanation. Their impact is measured by the implicit tax rate on working longer,...

April 15, 2019
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05Apr

France wants to cap executive pensions, in dig at Airbus

The French government wants to impose a cap on executives' pension packages, amid criticism of a hefty retirement deal for the CEO of Airbus. Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said Thursday on BFM television that he will propose legislation in coming weeks to limit pension packages to 30 percent of an executive's annual pay. He didn't elaborate. Le Maire has said the package for Airbus' Tom Enders was "excessive" and could hurt the plane maker's reputation. French media reports...

April 5, 2019
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March 2019

20Mar

‘No change to France retirement age’ after backlash

There will be no change to the minimum retirement age in France, the health minister has confirmed, despite having previously suggested that “a lengthening in the duration of work” may be possible. The move has been described as a “backtrack”, after health minister Agnès Buzyn had previously appeared (on Sunday March 17) to suggest that a new minimum retirement age would be proposed. When questioned by MPs on the topic this week, however, Ms Buzyn said: “No change to...

March 20, 2019
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February 2019

19Feb

Munich Re closes longevity swap deal with Lafarge pension scheme

German reinsurer Munich Re has completed a longevity swap deal with the Trustee of Lafarge UK Pension Plan, the UK pension scheme of French industrial company Lafarge. The arrangement is intended to reduce the Plan’s exposure to longevity risk, which arises when pensioners live longer than expected and thus claim more money on their retirement plans. Lafarge identified longevity risk as the largest individual risk in its plan due to its focus on defined benefit (DB) schemes, which pay...

February 19, 2019
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