From September 17, women will no longer “receive pensions”

Retired women will have finished receiving their 2023 pension on September 17. Beyond this date, they no longer receive virtually anything. Explanations.

While all the reports on the application of Social Security financing laws highlight the considerable gaps in retirement between men and women, an alarming reality is emerging. Due to these differences, from September 17 each year, taking into account an average annual salary, it could be symbolically said that women “no longer receive a pension” when comparing their pensions to those of men.

In fact, the average pension for women amounts to 1,401 euros per month, while that for men reaches 1,955 euros. This disparity of 28% can even increase to 40% if we put aside the survivor’s pension. These figures do not fall from the sky. They reflect persistent salary inequalities between the sexes throughout their careers. The current methods of calculating pensions, based in particular on the 25 best annual salaries, are in favor of men. Women, who often have lower salaries and shorter or part-time careers, are thus disadvantaged.

Various mechanisms have been put in place to mitigate these inequalities. However, some of them, such as early retirement for a long career or the professional prevention account (C2P), are more advantageous for men. For example, only 5% of women born in 1950 were able to benefit from early departure for a long career, compared to 18% of men.

However, there are also beneficial devices for women. The minimum pension (Mico), for example, which benefits 62% of women, increases their pension by 150 euros on average. Increases in the duration of insurance for children also allow women to accumulate more quarters for a full retirement. However, the Court of Auditors notes that these mechanisms do not sufficiently compensate for the associated salary losses.

These figures remind us of the urgency of rethinking our retirement system to guarantee real equality between the sexes. In the absence of concrete measures, September 17 will become an annual symbol of the financial injustice that women face in their post-professional lives.