The French pension system // 3 parts.
Pay-as-you-go, the general scheme, complementary and special schemes: how France’s pension system is actually built, what the famous “42 schemes” figure really means, and how France compares with its neighbours. A series to understand, not to campaign.
~21 min of reading
2026 · macro
Pensions come up at every election, every reform, every strike — but almost always from the wrong end: an age, a slogan, a “special scheme” brandished as a bogeyman. Rarely from the beginning: how is the system built, and who pays for what?
This series takes the problem in order. A first article lays out the overall architecture — pay-as-you-go, the mandatory tiers, the real meaning of the “42” figure. Then we open the big special schemes one by one (SNCF rail, energy utilities, Paris transit, seafarers…), without judgement: their history, their rules, their funding. Finally, we step outside France to compare it with the United States, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Norway — and debunk a few clichés, starting with the “sovereign fund that pays the pensions”.
Every figure links to its source. The goal isn’t to tell you what to think about pensions, but to give you the frame to follow the debate yourself.
General information, not advice. The rules cited are those in force in mid-2026; they change with each budget and social-security financing act.
Pay-as-you-go pensions: how the French system works, and why “42 schemes”?
The backbone of the French system, explained simply: pay-as-you-go, the mandatory tiers, the real meaning of the “42 schemes” figure, and what the 2023 reform — then its 2026 suspension — actually change.
The SNCF railway pension scheme, explained
The railway workers' scheme without the trial or the whitewash: its history, its calculation on the last six months, its retirement ages — and why the State pays roughly €3.2bn a year to balance it.
The energy-sector (IEG) pension scheme (EDF, Engie, Enedis, GRDF…)
Often confused with SNCF's, the electricity and gas workers' scheme differs on one decisive point: it receives no State subsidy. How it's really funded (yes, the CTA levy on your bill), and the funded layer — the PERO — sitting on top.