As American politicians accuse one another of being the biggest threat to Social Security, several countries around the world are pondering whether to raise their retirement age to resolve future solvency concerns. Risking political backlash, President Emmanuel Macron has decided to raise the French retirement age from 62 to 64.
Macron was worried that France’s parliament would not approve the fiercely contested bill to do so and thus opted to push the legislation through Thursday without a full parliamentary vote. Other nations considering raising their retirement age include China and the United Kingdom.
“My interest would have been to go to a vote, but I consider that at the present time, the financial and economic risks are too great. One cannot play with the future of the country,” Macron told government ministers, as quoted in the New York Times.
Since taking office in 2017, Macron has weathered political challenges like the Yellow Vest movement. He is risking backlash again by raising the retirement age. The confrontation over the entitlement has already lasted for more than two months, and Macron decided it would be a different risk not to make this move.
