What impact will have the white year in 2026 on your finances? (Photo credits: © WavebreakmediaMicro- Stock.adobe.com)
Range of income tax, retirement pensions, social assistance, unemployment benefits … a possible freeze on usual revaluations in 2026 is making its way. What would be his impact?
How to make 40 billion euros in savings on the 2026 budget? For the government and parliamentarians, the time is for reflection. Among the tracks mentioned, that of a freezing of the usual annual revaluations is debated. If the savings in the key can be substantial, such a decision could accentuate the inequalities between the most modest and wealthy French. What would be the most disadvantaged households by such a measure?
Towards an accentuation of standard of living inequalities between rich and poor
On Wednesday, July 2, at the microphone of Sud Radio, the minister responsible for public accounts, Amélie de Montchalin, announced that a “break on certain expenses” was possible. To save from around 40 billion euros on the 2026 budget, the usual revaluations of a certain number of devices could thus be frozen. A kind of white year which would not be without impact on the French portfolio, and in particular on that of the most modest.
“This global gel would have a regressive distributive effect, although it extends throughout the distribution of income” underlines on this subject the Institute of Public Policy (PPI) which evaluated a reputation, social benefits and the income tax scale, and published the results obtained on Monday, June 30. In other words: the inequalities between the poorest French and the richest French would increase.
A quarter of the population with the most modest standard of living would lose more than 0.5 % standard of living. In question? The freezing of social benefits such as RSA, APL or unemployed allowances, while inflation will continue to gradually increase prices. For the PPI, the worst scenario would however be a “isolated freezing of social benefits”, which would induce an even stronger increase in inequalities between modest and wealthy French.
Retirees and unemployed also disadvantaged by a white year
In parallel with the study of the Institute of Public Policy, the economist of the OFCE Pierre Madec published a blog post in which he studied the impact of a frosting of revaluations in 2026. If he also concludes that the most modest households will be the hardest affected by such a measure, he considers that retirees and the unemployed will also be part of the big losers, retirement pensions and social benefits.
According to him, retirees would lose more than 1 % standard of living in 2026, against only 0.25 % for employees and self -employed workers. On average, the OFCE economist estimates that retirees would lose around 350 euros in purchasing power. In detail, 320 euros would be linked to the freezing of pensions, 20 euros to the amount to be paid in addition in terms of income tax in the event of a freezing of the progressive scale, and 10 euros for less social benefits.
People receiving unemployment benefits would also be greatly disadvantaged by a white year in 2026. Pierre Madec estimates the impact of a freezing measure of revaluations at 180 euros on average for an unemployed person. On this sum, 70 euros would be linked to the freezing of unemployment benefits and 60 euros to that of social benefits paid in addition to the home concerned.
