Marine Le Pen defends her pension reform, her measures in favor of purchasing power and pleads for the Ephad not to be places for profit The RN candidate was then questioned about pensions, the purchasing power of retirees and the control of accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ephad). She again said she wanted to return an average of “150 to 200 euros” of purchasing power to the French, thanks to a bouquet of measures: by lowering the value added tax (VAT) from 20% to 5.5% on energy prices, by abolishing VAT on a basket of basic necessities (sugar, milk, nappies, etc.) by choosing them with “consumer associations”, “in consultation”, or even by restoring the half share of widows and widowers and by reindexing withdrawals on inflation. On pensions, she put forward her proposal for retirement at 60 when you have forty annuities, and up to 62 years maximum, a “promise of social justice”, she argued, opposing retired at 65 or 64, defended by Emmanuel Macron. Marine Le Pen then assured to make a “political choice” on the Ephad, denouncing the situation of “shameful” and “shattering” abuse in private Ephad highlighted by the book Les Fossoyeurs by journalist Victor Castanet at the beginning of the year. “Here again, it is necessary at all costs to put in place conditions which oblige nursing homes to have a number of caregivers per resident, but it is also necessary to increase [le salaire des] caregivers,” she said. “There must obviously be a radical change in this area and perhaps consider that nursing homes cannot be places where you make money,” she added, pleading instead for “mutualist structures for more well-being and control, and the establishment of a “coordinating doctor” in each nursing home.