Pensions, a social achievement that has stood the test of time

By Camille FratiLex Kleren Switch to French for original article

The first century of pensions was marked by their gradual extension both in terms of rights and beneficiaries. The next century appears to be one of gradual backpedalling in the face of difficulties in financing the system.

It is perhaps one of the most precious and symbolic social achievements. In a modern society dominated by the value of work and contribution to the national effort, pensions enable citizens to live decently after a busy career, to enjoy the life that remains to them as their strength begins to leave them. A period of respite of varying length and in varying health, depending on the life they have led and, it has to be said, the luck of the draw when it comes to social conditions.

Back to the origins of pensions. The Luxembourg system is not the oldest – the first pension scheme was created for French sailors under Louis XIV in the 17th century. But like our neighbours, it really emerged in the wake of the Industrial Revolution and the great social struggles to improve living conditions for workers. However, governments were a little late in coming to the fore, leaving factory and mine owners free to look after their employees, as historian Denis Scuto explains in the article "La naissance de la protection sociale au Luxembourg" ("The birth of social protection in Luxembourg").

Some set up an emergency fund for workers who suffered an accident at work – but they only received a derisory sum that was closer to compensation than to a replacement income. The same applied to the pensions that appeared in the 1890s, which were granted subject to conditions and represented barely half a wage. The industrialists also relied on the fact that, by law, it was up to the municipalities to take care of the indigent.

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