Retiring at 60 in France

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The French parliament passed controversial reforms to its pension system last week. The biggest change? The minimum retirement age would rise from 60 to 62. Reporter Anita Elash spent some time with one couple who retired at 60 and sent this story.

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LISA MULLINS: I’m Lisa Mullins and this is The World. Today, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in France. For the second time in a month, people came out to protest the government’s plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. Parliament approved the plan last week, but it still faces a vote in the Senate. President Sarkozy says that France has to raise the retirement age to keep the pension system afloat. Reporter Anita Elash recently spent time with one couple who retired at the age of 60. She spoke with them at their home north of Paris.

ANITA ELASH:  Michele and Christian Gay-Pelliers sit down with their three young grand-daughters for afternoon snacks. There’s apple juice, cereal, cookies and conversation all around. Michele tries to get the lowdown on what the girls did in school, while Christian gently reminds them not to talk with their mouths full. This has become a weekly event at the Gay-Pelliers home since Michele retired from her job as a finance director last summer. It’s just one of her pleasures as a new retiree. She’s also taken up water aerobics and scrapbooking. And she and Christian are organizing a three-day international circus that starts in two weeks.

MICHELE GAY-PELLIERS:  My mind, my brain is still working, but I’m retired because I can tell you that I don’t take any more sleeping pills at night because I can sleep very well during the night. I don’t get up at 6 every morning. I take my time. And everything I do I do it because I enjoy it. And I do it in a peace way.

ELASH: In many ways, the Gay-Pelliers are your typical retirees the world over. What makes them stand out is their relatively young age. Michele is 61. Christian is 65, and he retired from his engineering job five years ago. The Gay-Pelliers say they would have been happy to work longer, but France allows people to retire at 60 with a full pension, and they wanted to take advantage of their benefits while they were still healthy.

GAY-PELLIERS: I could have worked more than that, I agree with you. But the system is that we are able to quit working, so why not?

SPEAKING FRENCH

CHRISTIAN GAY-PELLIERS: It was natural. We go to nursery school until we’re five, then elementary school, then high school and your studies. After that you work and when you turn 60 you retire. To me this is the normal course of life.

ELASH: And so you think it’s your turn now.

GAY-PELLIERS: We think it’s our turn, yes. That’s right.

ELASH: The Gay-Pelliers aren’t wealthy, but they’ll have a comfortable retirement. Their pension provides just under 60% of their combined salaries. The money comes from mandatory contributions they made over 40 years to the government pension fund. They didn’t save anything extra, because they didn’t have to. Michele says they’re well aware they’re living a dream that France can no longer afford.

GAY-PELLIERS:  People are living more and more. Pension funds are now, they are serving pensions for 30 years. In the past they used to pay, let’s say, 15 years. But now people they live and it’s good for the humanity. But nobody can deny that there’s a lack of money. So something has to be done.

SPEAKING FRENCH

ELASH: Christian adds he thinks France has to raise the minimum retirement age to 62 or even higher. Even with that change, he and Michele worry their children won’t have enough to retire on. But that doesn’t mean they’re willing to make any sacrifices when it comes to their pension.

GAY-PELLIERS: Give up pensions, I don’t think so. Frankly, I don’t think so. We don’t know. Maybe we will be forced to give up something, but it will not be with our blessing.

ELASH: They both say they’re relieved they’ve gotten in under the wire before the changes to come. For The World, I’m Anita Elash in Domont, France.

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