Marianne is a 66-year-old retiree who was a clerk for more than 40 years at the Post Office (La Poste), in France. He retired in 2020, shortly before turning 62, after a lifetime delivering mail in small Breton towns. “My retirement pension is 1,240 euros net per month,” he explains. “I have spent my entire life working, and although I am grateful, it seems little for so many years of service.”
His story collected in Lefigaro summarizes the evolution at Correos, which went from being a public administration to a public limited company with state capital. When Marianne joined in 1979, the company was still part of the civil service. “Then they called the PTTs. I was a regular official,” she remembers. In 2020, almost half of La Poste’s employees were still in that regime, according to its own social report.
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Before entering the postal service, Marianne worked on a dairy farm. “My parents knew the owner, and I was there until I got married, when I was 20. Then we moved to Brittany and I started as a messenger in Ille-et-Vilaine. I delivered letters every day, from Monday to Saturday, by bicycle, whether it was hot or cold,” he explains.
During her professional life, Marianne knew only two employers: the farm where she started and La Poste, where she spent the rest of her career. “What I liked most was being close to people. They knew me well, because I always took the same routes,” he remembers. The mother of three children, she interrupted her career three times over several months to care for them.
When he left his position, his monthly salary was about 1,610 euros net. Your pension is calculated, as with other civil servants, on the average of the last six months worked. In addition, she receives some benefits for having been an employee of the group: a free telephone subscription, a commission-free card from La Banque Postale and advantageous overdraft conditions.
Although she was not affected by the latest pension reform applied in 2023, Marianne believes that the new generations will have a harder time. “We had stability. Today, the majority are private employees and their conditions are no longer the same,” he laments.
Even so, she appears satisfied with this new stage of her life. “I have worked all my life. Now I want to enjoy my free time, take care of my grandchildren and take a leisurely walk,” he confesses, smiling.
How much does a Correos employee earn in Spain?
In Spain, a Correos worker earns between 1,300 and 1,600 euros gross per month, although this can vary depending on complements for production, seniority or geographical location. These belong to group IV employees (operational personnel) according to their collective agreement.
In the case of delivery drivers and sorters, they receive between 1,100 and 1,300 euros, while base officers reach 1,200 or 1,400 euros per month. Executive employees, for their part, earn between 1,300 and 1,570 euros gross per month.
In addition, it must be taken into account that Correos offers other tax benefits, such as health insurance, a retirement plan and the possibility of internal promotion through a competition.