France: It is important to understand the costs entailed by the very generous pension system

The public pension system currently costs 3.5 percentage points of GDP more in France than in the other euro-zone countries, which is attributable : T o t he pension level for 80% ; T o t he retirement age for 20% ; Demographics (relative weight of pensioners and the working population) for 0% . If France had a pension system of the same weight as the other euro-zone countries, it could for example: Invest more in education and raise teacher wages; Overhaul the public health system and raise the wages of public health professionals; Lower companies’ social contributions, providing a positive impact on the employment rate. The choice that has been made, i.e. to have a very costly pension system in France, therefore has many consequences.