FRANCE The

level. No taxes and social premiums have to be paid with respect to
pension premiums. Increasingly, flexible pension and pre-pension
schemes are established that enable a worker – on the basis of a
saving scheme - to retire before the age of 65 and/or retire part-time
first and full-time later. These flexible schemes tend to replace the
existing early retirement schemes, VUT (vervroegde uittreding),
which are no longer supported fiscally by the Government, see
section 3.
One of the main problems regarding the second tier pension has
been the so-called “breach of pension” (pensioenbreuk) which
occurs when participation in a company or sector pension funds
stops. This can happen, for example, when a worker changes jobs,
becomes unemployed or disabled. Workers who temporarily leave
paid employment to take care of their children can also suffer from
loss of pension. Legal measures have been (and are being) taken to
reduce this problem. For example, regulations exist for the transfer
of pensions, thus enabling workers to transfer their pension
entitlements to the company fund of their new employer without
suffering a loss of entitlements.
A fairly recent innovation concerns the main collective agreement
for temporary work agencies (ABU-CAO). This collective
agreement stipulates that temporary agency workers at the age of 21
and over who have worked for 26 weeks for the same temporary
work agency have a right to be included in a pension scheme. If the
worker starts working for another temporary work agency he or she
will continue to participate in the pension scheme. However, if he
interrupts work for one year or more, this participation ends and he
or she will have to “build up” another 26 weeks before participation
can be resumed. The pension entitlements that were already
obtained are maintained. Participation in the pension scheme is
mandatory for the temporary agency worker. The premium rate is
3.5% of the gross wage. The worker himself or herself pays a
maximum of one third of the premium. To give an example:
Table 5: Projected employment growth and employment rates 2001-2010
Spring 2003 | European Employment Observatory Review 129
Trends
Randstad, one of the major temporary work agencies, has created a
pension scheme for its workers called “Flexicurity”.
Certain categories of workers, notably the self-employed, are
depending on private pension schemes to create supplementary
pension payments (besides the general old age pension provided by
the State). Annuity insurance represents the most common example
of private pension schemes: the worker pays a premium to the
insurance company (tax-deductible to a certain extent, also
depending on an individual’s – calculated – pension gap) and in
return receives a certain fixed benefit at a certain age.
The Dutch Confederation of Trade Unions FNV has estimated in
the past that some half a million workers lack a supplementary
pension scheme. This is referred to as the “blind spot” in pension
schemes. Partly this pertains to companies and sectors that have not
created any provision at all and partly to categories of workers that
are being excluded from existing schemes, such as some groups of
flexible workers. As far as women are concerned, this could
represent cases of unequal treatment and a violation of European
treaties and guidelines.
The old age pension ends at the death of the recipient. The rate of
the pension is derived from the minimum wage and the recipient’s
private situation. A distinction is made between:
• unmarried single persons: 70% of the minimum wage;
• unmarried single persons with a child below the age of 18: 90% of
the minimum wage;
• married persons: each 50% of the minimum wage;
• unmarried persons living together: each 50% of the minimum
wage.
Recipients with a partner below the age of 65 receive a pension of
50% of the minimum wage and may be entitled to an extra
allowance, depending on the younger partner’s income and on the
Average employment growth 2001-2010 Projected employment rate 2010
Total Women Older workers Total Women Older workers
B 1.2% 1.7% 7.7% 65.2 57.6 38.7
DK 1.1% 1.4% 1.7% 82.7 80.7 56.9
D 0.7% 1.0% 1.8% 71.0 65.4 47.8
EL 0.4% 0.8% 2.2% 57.6 44.3 42.7
E 2.2% 3.8% 4.8% 68.5 58.9 51.4
F 1.3% 1.7% 6.4% 68.5 62.9 37.7
IRL 3.0% 4.0% 5.6% 78.6 71.8 56.9
I 1.6% 3.0% 2.7% 65.0 55.3 31.7
L 3.4% 5.1% 6.7% 79.0 74.6 35.9
NL 2.1% 3.1% 6.7% 86.0 82.6 52.5
A 0.3% 0.7% 1.8% 70.2 63.7 30.7
P 0.4% 0.6% 2.4% 71.1 64.5 56.1
FIN 1.7% 1.9% 6.8% 78.1 75.9 59.4
S 0.7% 0.6% 1.1% 73.8 71.8 63.5
UK 1.1% 1.2% 2.2% 76.5 70.2 53.0
F 1.3% 1.7% 6.4% 68.5 62.9 37.7
EU 1.2% 1.8% 3.3% 70.8 64.0 45.2