The development of the French pension system

The thesis deals with the pension system evolution in France. Its main objective is to provide the detailed description concerning the development of the French social security system especially focused on the social security for elderly people. The contemporary pension system is the result of the long evolution lasting for centuries. Despite the fact that it is also based on obligatory participation, a lot of differences can be found by comparison to the other European countries. The system in France consists of several independent systems that are governed by different rules. This plurality finds its principal origin in the Napoleonic era when the first pension schemes for some specific professions have been settled. The variability of pension benefits for different groups of insured persons was the main cause why the concept of one uniform scheme for social insurance has failed after WW2. The first decades after establishing the universal (but not uniform) social security system were characterized by the economic growth and by the exceptionally favourable demographic situation. The difficulties appeared in 70s when the slowdown of the economic growth had a negative impact on labour market. Governments seemed to be preparing the deep system reform to solve the social system revenue decline..