Help promised for unemployed seniors
Benefit for unemployed people who are nearing state pension age is saved after another attempt to scrap it
A BENEFIT scheme designed to help unemployed people nearing retirement age has been temporarily saved after the government abandoned plans to get rid of it.
Nicolas Sarkozy has agreed to keep the allocation équivalent retraite (AER) for at least another two years in an attempt to help some of the estimated one million people who risk having their unemployment benefits entitlement taken away from them this year.
The AER is paid to unemployed people who can no longer claim jobseekers' benefit and who are nearing the legal retirement age of 60 but are not yet eligible for a state pension.
It was originally axed by the government at the start of 2009 as part of a policy to get older people back to work but this decision was reversed because of the economic crisis.
The scheme was stopped again on January 1 this year. Extending the scheme once more will cost the government about €300m between now and the end of 2011.
About 70,000 people benefit from the AER. It is available to anyone under-60 who is registered as unemployed and has clocked up 160 quarters (40 years) of social security contributions in France.
The scheme pays €32.69 a day - nearly €1,000 a month - for those earning less than €588.42 a month from other sources. A smaller payout is available for those earning between €588.42 and €1569.12.
