Boost for farmer spouses. The government announces on Wednesday that more than 200,000 pensioners, mainly spouses of farmers, will benefit from a revaluation of their retirement pension. This news follows the final adoption by Parliament at the beginning of December of a revaluation of small pensions for “collaborating spouses” of farmers.
“More than 200,000 pensioners are affected by this increase in their retirement pension. Women are the main beneficiaries: more than 120,000 of them will see their pension increase by an average of 70 euros per month, and 30% of them will benefit from a pension increase of more than 100 euros per month, ” the government specifies. The increase concerns “spouses” as well as “family caregivers” and “materializes as of Wednesday, February 9, 2022, the date of payment of pensions under the month of January by the Agricultural social Mutuality (MSA) to pensioners,” says the government statement.
They currently receive at a retirement of 604 euros per month on average
Until then, the “collaborating spouses” of farmers received a pension of 604 euros per month on average, when they completed 150 quarters, and 307 euros in other cases. For the State Secretary in charge of Pensions, Laurent Pietraszewski, “it was normal that all family members who worked on the family farm might also benefit from a pension upgrade”.
The measure was brought by the leader of the communist group in the National Assembly, André Chassaigne. In June 2020, the DEPUTY had already obtained a unanimous vote to raise the pensions of former heads of agricultural operations to a floor level of 85% of the net Smic (instead of 75%), or 1,035 euros. The first payments were made in early December to the bank accounts of some 208,000 pensioners.