FRANCE – A new pensions association designed to promote and protect the interests of pensioners and pension funds in France, Sauvegarde Retraites, has been established in Paris.

“We have actually been around for three years but were waiting for our membership to reach sufficient numbers before going public,” says director Guy Plunier. The association currently has some 45,000 individual members, who help finance it.

Plunier says the association advocates the creation of French-style pension funds and its main objective is to promote the idea of capitalised style pension funds in France and freedom of choice about the retirement vehicles available to the public in general.

“We are also involved in closing the gap vis-à-vis contribution rates between public sector and private schemes and political lobbying,” he says.

Marie-Laure Dufrêche, general secretary of the association, says going public will help its profile and influence. “We expect our membership to rise drastically in the future. We wish to promote the idea of pension funds as a means of retirement provision for all, not just the elite,” she says.