What will change for companies in health and personal protection in 2025?

The Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS) 2025, recently presented by the government, contains measures designed to reduce the deficit in social security accounts and tighten spending control. For companies, this bill has a direct and indirect impact on the management of health and provident insurance contracts. Through adjustments to contributions, the revision of rebates and an overhaul of benefits, companies will have to rethink certain aspects of their collective benefit policy. In this article, we take an in-depth look at the main reforms of the PLFSS 2025 that concern companies, and their consequences for the management of health and provident contracts.

1. PLFSS 2025: An economic context of expenditure control

The presentation of the PLFSS 2025 comes at a time when the government intends to control public and social spending, while maintaining high-quality social protection for the French. Indeed, after the exceptional measures taken during the the Covid-19 pandemicpandemic, the social security accounts have deteriorated sharply. According to forecasts, the social security deficit could reach 18 billion euros by 2024, and the aim is to reduce it to 16 billion euros by 2025. One of the key measures of the PLFSS is to cap the increase in social security spending at 2.8% in 2025, a rate higher than forecast inflation but significantly lower than in previous years. This control will result in adjustments that will directly affect companies, particularly in the management of their health and provident contracts.

2. Increased co-payments: impact on health insurance contracts

As part of the PLFSS 2025, one of the most significant measures for employers concerns the increase in co-payments. This concerns the portion of medical expenses remaining payable by policyholders after reimbursement by the social security system. Group health insurance contracts, often taken out by companies for their employees, will have to cover this increase, which could lead to higher insurance premiums. This reform is designed to generate substantial savings for the health insurance system, with the aim of reducing expenditure by 1.1 billion euros by 2025. For companies, this means that the mutual health insurance companies or insurers they work with will probably have to revise their fee schedules to compensate for this increase in out-of-pocket expenses.

3. Reducing the ceiling on daily allowances: what impact for provident schemes?

The PLFSS 2025 also provides for a reduction in the ceiling on daily allowances paid by social security to employees on sick leave. Today, these allowances cover part of the wages lost by employees when they are off work, but this ceiling will be lowered in order to limit social security expenditure. The aim is to achieve savings of around 600 million euros. This lowering of the ceiling will have a direct impact on companies' group insurance contracts. These contracts, which supplement the compensation paid by social security, will have to make up the difference to maintain employees' income levels. This could lead to an increase in employer contributions, or adjustments in the cover offered by companies to keep costs under control.

4. Combating social fraud: increased monitoring of social security contributions

The PLFSS 2025 also places particular emphasis on the fight against social fraud. The government plans to deploy 1,000 additional agents by 2027 to step up checks on employer declarations and benefit entitlements. In 2022, detected social fraud amounted to 800 million euros, and the aim is to reach 5.5 billion euros in reassessments by 2027. For companies, this means increased vigilance with regard to their declarations of social security contributions and their practices concerning sick leave, provident fund contributions and pension entitlements. Companies will need to ensure rigorous management of these aspects to avoid any risk of adjustment or penalties.

5. Revision of reductions in employer contributions on low wages

Another important aspect of the PLFSS 2025 concerns the revision of employer contribution reductions on low salaries. The government is relying on the Bozio-Wasmer reportreport, which recommends revising these reductions to encourage wage increases above the SMIC and reduce "low-wage traps". This reform will have a direct impact on companies employing workers close to the minimum wage. By reducing contribution reductions on low wages, labor costs could rise, particularly for sectors that rely heavily on these schemes. In addition, this could prompt companies to review their pay scales and, consequently, adjust contributions on health and provident contracts, which are generally indexed to employees' wages.

6. Pensions: postponement of pension increases

The PLFSS 2025 introduces a shift in the revaluation of retirement pensions. From 2025 onwards, pension increases will take place on July 1, rather than January 1. This measure is designed to generate savings of €4 billion, by postponing pension increases for six months. Although this measure mainly concerns pensioners, it could also have an indirect impact on companies, particularly those offering supplementary pension plans. The management of pension contracts may have to adapt to this new timeframe, and companies will have to take this delay into account when adjusting their financial commitments to their employees.

7. Specific measures for low-wage earners and start-ups

The PLFSS 2025 also proposes measures to support start-ups and employees paid at the minimum wage. Particular attention is paid to the reform of social security contributions for agricultural businesses and young farms, which will benefit from specific reductions to support their growth. At the same time, the government wants to encourage the hiring of seasonal workers by reducing employers' charges on these contracts. These targeted measures will have an impact on wage costs in certain sectors, notably agriculture and tourism, and could influence companies' choice of provident contracts for these categories of workers.

8. Impact on group health and welfare contracts

Overall, the PLFSS 2025 will have significant repercussions on the management of group health and provident contracts within companies. Here are the main consequences to anticipate:

• Higher health insurance premiums: With the increase in co-payments, mutual health insurance companies will be called upon to cover a greater proportion of medical costs, which could lead to higher premiums for companies and their employees.

• Adjustments to employee benefits coverage The reduction in daily benefits and reimbursement ceilings will force companies to adapt their provident insurance contracts to maintain their employees' level of protection. This could mean an increase in contributions or a revision of the cover offered.
• Increased vigilance with regard to work stoppages: As the fight against social fraud is stepped up, companies will need to ensure strict management of work stoppages and declarations to avoid any risk of adjustment or sanction by URSSAF.

9. Conclusion: The PLFSS 2025, a turning point for companies

The PLFSS 2025 marks a turning point in the management of health and provident contracts for French companies. While the main aim of the reforms is to control public and social spending, they are also forcing employers to anticipate a series of adjustments, both in terms of costs and benefits management. The PLFSS raises a fundamental question: that of the willingness to pay both basic and supplementary social security contributions. The new social contributions and adjustments envisaged by the PLFSS 2025 raise a crucial question: how far will companies and employees accept these additional social charges without jeopardizing the economic viability of their businesses? Indeed, if charges increase too much, this could create significant financial pressure on companies. However, reducing essential guarantees would jeopardize the protection of employees, whose rights must remain a priority. Striking a balance between costs that are bearable for companies and the quality of social protection is therefore becoming imperative to preserve the attractiveness and competitiveness of the system. Companies will therefore need to prepare to absorb these new charges, while maintaining attractive levels of social protection for their employees. Increased vigilance will also be required, particularly as controls are stepped up. Against this backdrop, employers will need to find appropriate solutions to maintain a balance between the financing of social protection and economic competitiveness.

 

Source : Presentation of the PLFSS 2025 - Press - Ministry of Finance