An EDF employee who retired in 2022 after a full career in the Electricity and Gas Industries does not receive the same pension as a colleague who retired ten years earlier at the same grade.
Between the calculation rules specific to the special scheme, successive reforms and the scheme’s closure to new hires since September 2023, actual pension amounts vary far more than people think. Understanding what affects an EDF employee’s pension means looking at how the system works in practice, not just at averages.
Gross or net EDF pension: two figures, two different realities
When you read that an EDF retiree receives a comfortable pension, the first question to ask is simple: are we talking about the gross or net amount? The difference is far from insignificant. Social security contributions (CSG, CRDS and the contribution to the fund for autonomy) significantly reduce the gross pension.
Most figures cited in public debate refer to gross amounts. Comparing them directly with what a retiree under the general scheme receives, which is often quoted as a net amount, gives a misleading picture. To estimate the average EDF pension, you also need to distinguish between a direct pension (earned through the employee’s own contributions) and any survivor’s pensions or supplementary benefits.
An IEG retiree with a high gross pension may find that, after deductions, the amount is less impressive. Conversely, certain benefits in kind (such as the discount on electricity bills, historically around 90%) are not included in the pension amount but can have a significant impact on a household’s actual budget.
Full career versus mixed career: the pension gap between EDF employees
The special IEG scheme calculates pensions based on salary during the final six months of employment, a far more favorable method than that of the general scheme, which uses the 25 best-earning years in the private sector. For comparable careers and retirement dates, this is the factor that creates the largest gap with retirees covered by the standard system.
An employee who joined EDF at a young age and worked their way up to a technical management position retires with a high calculation base. Another employee, hired midway through their career after years in the private sector, draws on two schemes: their IEG pension covers only the portion of their career spent in the industry. The time spent under IEG status accounts for most of the difference between retirees.
Since September 1, 2023, new hires in the IEG have been covered by the general scheme. Employees hired before that date retain the benefits of the special scheme. As a result, two groups now coexist: those who will retire with a pension calculated entirely under IEG rules, and those whose retirement income will combine contribution periods across several schemes.
Active-duty and hazardous jobs: earlier retirement, a different pension
Some EDF employees in roles classified as “active service” or “hazardous” can retire before the statutory retirement age. This early retirement, often around age 57 for these occupations, affects the pension amount: retiring earlier can mean accumulating fewer qualifying quarters and receiving a slightly reduced pension compared with retiring with a full pension.
The average retirement age for IEG retirees is around 60, but this average masks very different situations depending on the job. A nuclear power plant maintenance technician and an administrative manager at headquarters do not retire at the same age or with the same pension amount.
IEG contributions and scheme funding: why pensions are higher
EDF pension levels do not come out of nowhere. They are primarily explained by contribution rates that are significantly higher than those of the general scheme. In 2023, the employee contribution rate was 12.78% and the employer contribution rate was 27.06%. These rates fund a scheme that pays more generous pensions, but relies on an increasingly strained demographic balance.
- Employee contribution of 12.78%: higher than in the private sector, it means a slightly lower take-home salary than for a comparable job outside the IEG
- Employer contribution of 27.06%: a substantial employer contribution that directly funds the Cnieg pension fund
- Energy benefit in kind (ANE): the discount on electricity bills is a non-cash component of compensation, with its taxable value shown on the payslip
The overall cost of this scheme is the subject of recurring debate. The Cour des comptes estimated that the employee electricity tariff cost the EDF Group more than €700 million in 2024. This amount is not directly related to pensions, but it illustrates the financial weight of benefits linked to IEG status, including after retirement.
EDF pensions and the general scheme: compare like with like
The DREES counted 137,000 IEG retirees at the end of 2024, with a change of -0.1% between 2020 and 2024. This stable but aging population receives pensions whose average amount is well above that of the general scheme. A direct comparison is still misleading unless structural differences are taken into account.
- Calculating pensions based on the final six months (IEG), rather than the 25 best-earning years (general scheme), mechanically benefits employees at the end of their careers
- Higher contribution rates in the IEG mean employees pay more throughout their working lives
- Additional benefits (employee electricity tariff, health insurance, negotiated social benefits) are not included in the pension amount but affect actual purchasing power
An IEG retiree and a private-sector retiree with the same gross salary while working have not paid the same amount in contributions. Comparing pensions with total contributions paid over a full career would put the apparent gap into perspective. This calculation is rarely included in public comparisons.
The closure of the special scheme to new entrants will gradually reduce the number of IEG retirees. In around twenty years, the question of the average EDF employee pension will no longer be framed in the same way: future retirees in the industry will be covered by the standard system, with pensions aligned with those of the general scheme. Today’s debate concerns a system that is gradually being phased out, but that does not make it any less important for the employees affected today.
