If precariousness primarily affects young people, some seniors are affected by poverty and precariousness employment for those who are not yet retired. Specific measures, in particular in terms of income and employment, for elderly people who experience precariousness exist and make it possible to somewhat limit the effects of poverty in their everyday life. Despite everything, some seniors live below the poverty line.
Of the 15 million people over 60 living in France, 1.2 million were considered poor in 2013. 590,000 were between 60 and 69 years old, 307,000 were between 70 and 79 years old and 302 000 are over 80 years old. Pensioners represent 10% of the poor population.
In 2000, there were nearly three times fewer poor seniors. This situation is partly due to the increase in the number of elderly people over the period, thanks in particular to the increase in life expectancy. But this is not the only explanation for the increase in the precariousness of seniors because their poverty rate has also increased.
Even if the latter remains low compared to that of the youngest, 8% of those aged 60-69, 7% of those aged 70-79 and 9.5% of those aged 80 or over are affected by poverty. Unlike younger generations for whom the future can be synonymous with getting out of precariousness, poor seniors have little chance of improving their situation over time.
Nearly one in ten women aged 75 and over lives below the poverty line, compared to 7.6% of men in this age group. The gaps between men and women are all the more marked as we get older. These senior women most often live alone, sometimes isolated, following the death of their spouse, with income from meager pensions, when they have worked, low survivors' pensions or the minimum old age which provides them with resources just equivalent to the threshold. of poverty, around 800 euros per month.
Older women have had more professional careers interrupted, notably by pregnancies, they have experienced periods of unemployment more often than men or have held part-time jobs and ultimately benefit from low incomes linked to their previous activity. In addition, some women over 75 have never worked and depend mainly on the income of their spouse.
Among the elderly who have not yet reached retirement age, some of them also experience job insecurity. Much less widespread than among the youngest, this precariousness still concerns 5.4% of employees aged 50 or over.
The trend has been on the rise since the financial crisis of 2008. More and more seniors who are still employed are employed on a temporary basis or on a fixed-term contract. Some are experiencing unemployment (7% of them) with slim hopes of finding a job before reaching retirement age and therefore of improving their income.
