Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Wednesday outlined plans for a long-anticipated overhaul of France's pension system that he said would be fairer and encourage people to work. Protesters continued strikes across the country, however, and unions vowed to fight after hearing his proposals. Here are the outlines of the pension reform: - France will establish a universal pension system that would be based on points and linked to salaries. The value of the points would be fixed, with parliament and the unions overseeing. - The legal age of pension will remain at 62 years, but workers will be encouraged to work until 64. Beyond the legal age, those working would receive bonuses on their accumulated points. Those leaving at 62 would receive a smaller pension. - The French government's pension reform plan will be fully applied to people entering the labour market from 2022; it will not affect anyone born before 1975. - The rules will be partly applied to those born starting from 1975: all their career until 2025 would be counted on the basis of the old system, but from 2025 the new system be taken into account. - Minimum pension will be set at 1,000 euros for a full career. - Those working in tough conditions and those who have tougher jobs, such as night work for nurses, would be able to retire two years earlier. Firemen, soldiers and police will keep a lower pension age. - The implementation of the new universal system will mean the end of the 42 specific regimes: elected officials and ministers will be treated the same as the rest of the French. - The new pension system is expected to fairer for women who interrupt their careers to look after children. - Everyone will pay at the same level up to 120,000 euros. Beyond that, the wealthiest will have to pay a solidarity contribution that is higher. - The government will guarantee that the pensions of teachers will be comparable to equivalent jobs in the civil service and will not lose anything from their pensions. - The draft law will be presented to ministers on Jan. 22 and debated in Parliament at the end of February
