Created in 2000, the Pensions advisory council (Conseil d'orientation des retraites, COR) is an institution in charge of monitoring the middle and long term prospects of the pension system. It is an interesting institution, because it is both an institution of expertise and an institution of dialogue.Its expertise is embodied by the general secretariat composed of economists, statisticians, who works in close cooperation with the public administration and the pension schemes. The concertation aspect is reflected in the composition of the Council (more than 30 members): members of both houses of Parliament, representatives of employers, of the main unions, of the retirees and families, independent experts and main directors of the administration.The laws assigns to the COR three main missions:- to describe the middle and long term prospects of the pension system with regard to demographic, economic and social background. In that respect, the COR issues, every five years, a set of projections on the financial situation of the pension system.- to delineate the required conditions to ensure the financial sustainability of the pension schemes. The COR works out the elements of a "diagnostic partagé" (shared assessment), and, if possible, tries to formulate a set of choices in terms of pension policies.- the COR has to publish, every year before June 15, a document on the pension system, based on a set of indicators and assessing their consistency with the pension system's objectives. Leaning on that report, a pension follow-up committee (comité de suivi des retraites) will make recommendations about possible pensions' parameters adjustments.The COR has provided its positive contribution to the system, it brings about continuity in the public debate on the pension system. The COR reports have allowed for a better understanding of the issues involved in the pension system, not only among experts but, more widely, in the overall political and social debate.