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I'm not sure what you mean by "deep pockets" of the "Sécurité Sociale" (is it "deep" in the sense that it's seen as bottomless, has a rather big deficit for par

I'm not sure what you mean by "deep pockets" of the "Sécurité Sociale" (is it "deep" in the sense that it's seen as bottomless, has a rather big deficit for parts of it, and it kinda assumed to be bailed out by taxpayer ; or "deep" because someone keeps the money ?) Also, we have to make one thing clear about the whole system in France, that's quite different from other places: your employer does not pay for your retirement and healthcase ; she pays for everyone's. Since you're most likely not retired when you have an employer (duh), and most likely not heavily sick, that's probably mostly "everyone else's". Of course, the line gets more bluried if you happen to have kids (and get the "allocations familiales", or housing help, etc...) or sick relatives, or retired ancestors. It's a long, heated, and complicated debate whether this is a good thing or not, and whether this is sustainable in the long-term, and whether the current generation of worker will be able to get the same "generosity" from the next generation. It's also true that most people find some way to save money "for themselves", and that companies can benefit from systems where they save money directly for their employees. And, guess what ? As usual, this is debated at the very moment we speak, so expect nothing except change :/

JPLeRouzic 8y ago
Thanks for this comment, it is well written and informative. > and whether the current generation of worker will be able to get the same "generosity" from the next generation. It does not work well even now as there are nearly as much retirees as employees. Only debt and the fact we are a huge economy in EU save us.
saiya-jin 8y ago
Its not that unique social system, quite contrary - a lot of countries have this setup since 50s or 60s. Eastern Europe is moving/moved from this system in many cases. You can either save for yourself (ie in mandatory pension funds) and have a risk of bankruptcy (with some governmental cover, but can't expect 100%), or have a system where current workers pay pensions for current retirees, or some mix of those. And all you can do is hope hard that once you retire, there will be enough people working for your pension (it won't). You have to save/invest aside to be really safe in 20-30 years - not really great social system if you ask me. Expect retirement age to be raised gradually exactly because this is failing. It is utterly unsustainable, demographic curve and raw numbers won't let you do miracles, and you can't rely on pure immigration to fix this these days. Happy to be in the system which doesn't work like that, I can see how much I have spared, what is the projection for retirement etc. I can decide when I to retire and manage with what I have saved.

JPLeRouzic 8y ago

Thanks for this comment, it is well written and informative. > and whether the current generation of worker will be able to get the same "generosity" from the next generation. It does not work well even now as there are nearly as much retirees as employees. Only debt and the fact we are a huge economy in EU save us.

saiya-jin 8y ago

Its not that unique social system, quite contrary - a lot of countries have this setup since 50s or 60s. Eastern Europe is moving/moved from this system in many cases. You can either save for yourself (ie in mandatory pension funds) and have a risk of bankruptcy (with some governmental cover, but can't expect 100%), or have a system where current workers pay pensions for current retirees, or some mix of those. And all you can do is hope hard that once you retire, there will be enough people working for your pension (it won't). You have to save/invest aside to be really safe in 20-30 years - not really great social system if you ask me. Expect retirement age to be raised gradually exactly because this is failing. It is utterly unsustainable, demographic curve and raw numbers won't let you do miracles, and you can't rely on pure immigration to fix this these days. Happy to be in the system which doesn't work like that, I can see how much I have spared, what is the projection for retirement etc. I can decide when I to retire and manage with what I have saved.