Paris (AFP)

Supplementary pension plans may if they wish to draw on their financial reserves to help the transition to the universal plan under conditions set by ordinance, voted on Saturday the deputies of the special pensions committee.

MEPs adopted a government amendment to this effect, the first presented by Secretary of State Laurent Pietraszewski since the start of work by the special committee on Monday.

"This amendment aims during the convergence period of twenty years (...) to allow affiliation schemes to decide whether they wish to use their financial reserves in order to facilitate convergence towards the scale of contributions of the universal system, by funding the partial assumption of the contributions "of the affiliates, detailed the secretary of State.

The Agir-Arrco plans (the complementary fund for private sector employees), Ircantec (for employees under public law), as well as the independent plans for chartered accountants and lawyers, will be affected, he added.

Lawyers in particular have been on their feet for a month against the pension reform, which, according to the National Bar Council, plans to double pension contributions (from 14 to 28%) for lawyers earning less than 40,000 euros per year, and pensions, currently at least 1,400 euros net, would increase to 1,000 euros.

"You have all the liberal professions against you and that way you quietly slip us" this amendment, protested in committee Sébastien Jumel (PCF).

"Puncture or not the reserves of the funds, you can not decide that by order," also challenged Eric Coquerel (LFI).

The right, which also protests against "an abusive use of orders", has "a strong suspicion on an additional flexibility granted to the different regimes", according to Constance Le Grip (LR).

The secretary of state insisted that the reserves would be used if the regimes "decided". It is a question of widening the authorization to take a prescription "so that this option exists", without "compelling anyone".

The leader of the deputies MoDem Patrick Mignola also supported the proposal for an ordinance, to allow time for consultation with the professions.

"Come back when you are ready!" Said Boris Vallaud (PS) earlier, also criticizing the use of orders, and ironically asking "that the government stop obstructing parliamentary filings".

The special committee, which will also meet on Sunday, has yet to examine some 16,000 amendments to the pension reform project.

© 2020 AFP