Pensions, inflation, AI: why executives and directors could be the big losers of a model that is running out of steam
Inflation, public debt, pensions under pressure and AI: for executives and managers, how can they preserve their standard of living if their activity is no longer enough to guarantee their future?
What if those who earn the best were also the most exposed? Since the creation of the Social Security system in 1945, based in particular on pay-as-you-go retirement, the promise seemed simple: work, contribute, then enjoy your retirement. Today, the warnings are piling up: unemployment at 8.3% and growth at 0% in the second quarter of 2026, public debt at 119% of GDP and rolling 12-month inflation close to tripling, at 3.1% in September.
On October 21, the yield on the French ten-year OAT crossed 5%, the first time since 2002. The markets are asking for more to lend to the State. The State borrows more expensively.
Life costs more. But will labor income follow and be sufficient in the future? Even prosperous, you remain dependent on variables that you cannot control.
The real risk of pensions is not what you think Three main sources fuel household income: Work and retirement income. Inheritance income. Capital income.
The first depend on the work you do or the contributions you have made. Your time and skills are traded for income. If the latter can increase, their progression does not really follow the cost of living.
As for pensions, their revaluation does not guarantee the maintenance of purchasing power in the face of inflation. Today, at a time when artificial intelligence is learning to accomplish in a few minutes tasks that historically required years of training and where the pension deficit is widening, a crucial question arises: how long before we see work income devalued and pensions called into question? The second – inheritance income – depends on the rules on transmission put in place by the regime in power.
Given the insatiable appetite of the State to fill its deficit and the dynamics of the latest finance laws in terms of taxation, you might as well draw your winning ticket from the lottery. Naturally, there remains one last avenue to explore. An avenue that it is still possible to optimize by using the right strategies, the right investment vehicles and the right knowledge of assets: capital income.
Machine-translated from French
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- BFM Business29 Oct, 09:00
| Publisher BFM Business (established tier) | +76 |
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