New employer contribution on company early-retirement benefits

Article 17 of the pension reform Act creates Article L. 137-10 of the Social Security Code: a contribution payable by employers, for the Old-Age Solidarity Fund, on early-retirement or early-exit benefits paid to former employees directly by the employer or on its behalf. Its rate equals the sum of the old-age insurance contribution rates (employer and employee shares) and the supplementary pension contribution rate below the ceiling. It applies to benefits paid under agreements or decisions concluded or taken after 27 May 2003. Public early-retirement schemes are not covered. A reduced rate, set by Decree 2003-1316 of 30 December 2003, applies until 31 May 2008 to schemes that maintain beneficiaries' pension coverage: half the normal rate until 31 December 2004, then 2.5 points more each year.