The Social Security deficit will reach a record level of 44.7 billion euros in 2020 because of the Covid-19 health crisis, according to figures from the Accounts Committee consulted on Monday.

In 2021, the deficit will still be at a very high level, with an estimate set at 25.5 billion euros.

Weighted down by Covid-19, the Social Security deficit is expected to reach a record level of 44.7 billion euros this year, then decline to 25.5 billion next year, according to a summary of the Audit Commission consulted Monday by AFP.

The cost of the coronavirus will be a little less heavy than expected for Social Security: estimated in June at 52 billion, the deficit for 2020 is now estimated at 44.7 billion, due to a recession "slightly less severe" than feared at the beginning summer, resulting in more income from taxes and contributions.

Health spending is on the rise due to the Covid-19

This bailout is also due to an "exceptional" payment from the pension reserve fund (FRR), which timely reimburses a "cash balance" belonging to the electricity and gas regime.

But health spending continues to widen because of the health crisis: despite a drop in reimbursements for liberal caregivers, measures linked to the epidemic (masks, tests, work stoppages, premiums in hospitals, etc.) are bending the sickness branch, which should post a deficit of 30 billion in 2020.

The Health Segur should increase the rating

A loss of 16.4 billion is still expected in 2021, not to mention the wage increases negotiated within the framework of the "Ségur de la santé", which should therefore increase the bill.

As for the retirement branch, the deficit would be 7.9 billion this year thanks to the payment of the FRR, but it would "remain" at 8 billion in 2021.

The family branch, which would plunge into the red in 2020 (-3.3 billion), "would once again be in surplus" next year (+0.9 billion), due in particular to a low revaluation of benefits linked to inflation , "the crisis slowing down prices".

The work accidents branch would follow the same path, with a slight deficit this year (-0.3 billion) followed by a return to green from 2021 (+0.5 billion).