Social Security budget: what are the expected measures?

After a somewhat chaotic journey, the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS(1)) was definitively adopted by MPs on December 16, 2025. This final project is, admittedly, less ambitious than its initial version. However, it still impacts employers. Here is an overview of the main measures introduced.

Note: These measures are subject to the examination of the Social Security financing bill by the Constitutional Council.

Pension reform put on hold

The subject of much debate, the latest pension reform provides for a gradual increase in the legal retirement age to 64 and to 172 quarters of the insurance period allowing one to obtain a full retirement pension. This reform has been suspended until the next presidential election. In concrete terms, the legal retirement age remains set at 62 years and 9 months for people born between January 1, 1963 and March 31, 1965. It is then gradually raised to 64 years of age for people born from 1969 onwards.

Additional birth leave

Employees who are on maternity, paternity, childcare, or adoption leave are granted additional birth leave for any child born or adopted on or after January 1, 2026. This also applies to children born before January 1, 2026 whose birth was due to take place on or after that date.

This new leave, for a period of 1 or 2 months (at the employee’s choice), gives rise to the payment of daily allowances from Social Security. The amount of these allowances has yet to be set by decree.

Conventional Severance pay and retirement indemnity

The part of the conventional severance pay and retirement indemnities that are not subject to social security contributions gives rise to the payment of a specific contribution to be paid by employers. The rate of this contribution has increased from 30% to 40%.

Reminder: These indemnities are not subject to social security contributions up to a double limit of 2 times the annual Social Security ceiling, i.e. €96,120 in 2026, and the highest of the following three amounts: the legal or conventional severance pay; 50% of the indemnity granted to the employee; twice their gross annual remuneration (during the calendar year preceding the termination).

(1) Projet de loi de financement de la Sécurité sociale (PLFSS)