Retirement: Why Don't Executives Buy Back More Quarters?
Although executives can buy back up to twelve quarters of higher education, the high cost of doing so makes this option unattractive. More than 80% of French executives believe that companies should finance this buyback, according to a Viavoice study conducted for the CGT Cadres.
The survey was conducted as the 2023 pension reform—which raised the legal retirement age to 64—is gradually taking effect, as is the 2014 Touraine reform, which requires 43 years of work to qualify for a full pension for everyone born in 1973 or later. These measures push executives even further away from retirement, given the years spent in school, even though they can buy back up to twelve quarters of higher education.
In reality, given the high cost of these quarters, “very few years are purchased. The number is in the thousands,” according to Ugict-CGT, which represents engineers, managers, and technicians.
According to the Viavoice survey, 84% of the executives surveyed believe that "companies should finance the repayment of student loans" if the program seems promising.
In addition, the Ugict-CGT is calling for “a guaranteed right for employees to take a phased retirement,” noting that 83% of those surveyed support this. This ties with the proposal for “a transition to part-time work without a loss of pay or retirement contributions” toward the end of their careers.
