Pension age hits insurance costs

Pension changes mean incapacity insurance premiums will rise 15 per cent to pay for extra two years

CHANGES to the pension age will mean workers paying an extra 15 per cent on their incapacity/invalidity insurance from January. The increase is to pay for the possible cost of cover for two extra years of work.

Insurance forecasters at the Centre Technique des Institutions de Prévoyance say the industry faces a €4 billion bill for people who are already receiving incapacity payments, plus the added costs of covering the extra two years for those still working.

The average age for starting invalidity payments is 50 and companies would now have to provide a “wage” for people for 12 years instead of 10, increasing the payment period by 20 per cent.

However, insurer D&O said it was not increasing its tariffsm, as the majority of its clients were in the transport industry which benefited from specific measures on retirement owing to the hardship of the job.

The move will be a double blow for workers as top-up insurance is also set to rise in the new year: up eight to 10 per cent owing to the new reduced repayment rate for medicines and the increase in the ticket modérateur payment. It is feared that employers will not pay the extra charges.