Despite the freeze, Saint-Martin confirmed that minimum pensions will be increased on January 1, 2025, with discussions ongoing about which pension thresholds will be protected.

Saint-Martin expressed a willingness to discuss potential adjustments for small pensions, emphasizing the need to protect them.

Saint-Martin emphasized that the government aims to involve retirees in public finance recovery through this postponement.

The French government plans to delay the indexing of pensions to inflation by six months, moving the adjustment date from January 1 to July 1, 2025.

This freeze is part of the budgetary discussions for the Social Security Funding Bill, which began on October 21 in the National Assembly.

This measure aims to save approximately 4 billion euros and will affect around 14 million retirees.

Budget Minister Laurent Saint-Martin announced that the government seeks to achieve at least six billion euros in additional savings for 2024 by canceling unspent credits.

The proposed pension freeze has faced widespread backlash from various political factions, including the National Rally and labor unions.

He stated that the cancellations of unspent credits would allow for stronger fiscal tightening by the end of 2024.

In response to criticism, the government is considering adjustments to protect lower-income retirees, including discussions about a threshold for exemption from the freeze.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier has shown openness to negotiating adjustments that would better protect lower pensions.

The decision to delay pension indexation follows a 5.3% increase in pensions at the start of 2024, which was aimed at addressing high inflation.