In France, private-sector employees' basic pensions are topped up by the compulsory supplementary pension scheme Agirc-Arrco, which is also financed on a pay-as-you go basis.
Basic pensions under the general scheme are awarded by:
France's statutory retirement age varies according to your date of birth. It is 62 for those born between 1955 and August 31st, 1961. It is then raised by 3 months per generation:
| Date of birth | Retirement age |
|---|---|
| From 01/09/1961 to 31/12/1961 | 62 years and 3 months |
| 1962 | 62 years and 6 months |
| 1963 | 62 years and 9 months |
| 1964 | 63 years |
| 1965 | 63 years and 3 months |
| 1966 | 63 years and 6 months |
| 1967 | 63 years and 9 months |
| 1968 or thereafter | 64 years |
However, in order to qualify for a full - pension from the statutory retirement age, you must have accrued a required number of quarters of contributions, which varies according to your year of birth. If you don't have the full period of insurance, your pension will be permanently reduced (discounted).
Once a claimant has reached 67, their pension will be calculated at the full rate (50%) regardless of how many quarters they have accrued.
The amount of the pension is determined by three factors:
The total period of insurance, which is used to determine the rate at which the pension will be paid, includes both periods of contributions paid to the various basic schemes (see Article L. 351-1 of the French Social Security Code) and periods treated as such, i.e. periods of cessation of work in the case of sickness, maternity, disability, industrial injury, military service, unemployment, etc.
Periods of employment abroad
Periods of work abroad in a state with which France has a social security agreement may in certain conditions be taken into account for the purpose of determining the pension payment rate.
Under French legislation, the periods of work abroad completed prior to 1st April 1983 for which buyback contributions can or could have been made, are counted as credited periods of insurance when determining the pension payment rate once the person concerned has reached the legal minimum retirement age (Article R. 351-4 of the French Social Security Code).
With the different reforms, the period of insurance required for a full-rate pension has increased progressively:
| Date of birth | Number of quarters required |
|---|---|
| 1958, 1959, 1960 | 167 quarters |
| 01/01/1961 – 31/08/1961 | 168 quarters |
| 01/09/1961 – 31/12/1962 | 169 quarters |
| 1963 | 170 quarters |
| 1964 | 171 quarters |
| 1965 or thereafter | 172 quarters |
Thus, for an individual born in 1962, the pension calculation formula is as follows:
Under certain circumstances, workers can retire before statutory age without a reduction in their pension rate:
People who wish to draw their pension but do not have the qualifying period of insurance for a full-rate pension (50%) will receive their pension at a reduced rate. The percentage reduction is determined by the number of missing quarters and the claimant's year of birth: 1.25% for those born from 1953 (i.e. a decrease of 0.625 for each missing quarter applied at the full rate of 50%). The pension will continue to be paid at the reduced rate from then on.
| Missing quarters |
Pension rate |
|---|---|
| 1 | 49.375 % |
| 2 | 48.750 % |
| 3 | 48.125 % |
| 4 | 47.500 % |
| 5 | 46.875 % |
| 6 | 46.250 % |
| 7 | 45.625 % |
| 8 | 45.000 % |
| 9 | 44.375 % |
| 10 | 43.750 % |
| 11 | 43.125 % |
| 12 | 42.500 % |
| 13 | 41.875 % |
| 14 | 41.250 % |
| 15 | 40.625 % |
| 16 | 40.000 % |
| 17 | 39.375 % |
| 18 | 38,750 % |
| 19 | 38,125 % |
| 20+ | 37,500 % |
A parent can be awarded a length of insurance increase of up to 8 quarters per child:
For children born after January 1st, 2010, additional quarters for adoption can be shared between the parents. Regarding the quarters for child-rearing, 2 of the 4 “child-rearing” quarters acquired for each child are automatically awarded to the mother. The other 2 can be awarded to the mother or to the father. The beneficiary of the additional quarters or sharing of the quarters between the parents must be notified within a 6-month period following the 4th anniversary of the child's birth or adoption via the declaration form.
Up to eight additional quarters may be credited to persons bringing up a child who has a permanent disability with a severity rating of 80% and qualifies for the special education disabled child's allowance (AEEH) or the disability compensation benefit (PCH).
An individual who reaches full-rate retirement pension age (67) but has not accrued the required length of insurance (depending on year of birth) for entitlement to a full pension (all basic schemes combined) may continue to practise a professional activity in order to increase their length of insurance by delaying their retirement. In this case, their length of insurance will be increased by 2.5% for each trimester retirement is delayed.
Pensions may be increased for the following reasons:
1Mainland France, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana, Réunion, Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélémy for at least 9 months each year.
It comes to €747.69 per month, and can be paid along with supplements earned due to length of insurance or other factors. Whatever the circumstances, the minimum pension cannot bring the total amount of personal pensions (basic and supplementary) above a certain set monthly amount (€1,394.86 from 1st November 2024).
The basic retirement pension cannot exceed 50% of the social security ceiling (€1,962.50 per month in 2025).
Lura was rolled out on July 1st, 2017, and does not apply:
The single pension claim system (Lura) applies to individuals who have belonged to at least 2 of the following so-called “aligned” schemes:
The single pension claim system does not apply to workers who have belonged to the former self-employed workers' scheme (régime social des indépendants/ RSI) and come under an international agreement that does not cover self-employed workers.
Through Lura, members who are also referred to as “multiple-pension claimants,” are only required to submit a single pension claim and only draw a single pension (rather than several as before).
An individual can submit a pension claim to any of the pension funds to which they have belong. The funds then work together to compile the information needed to process the claim and calculate the pension.
In general, the competent scheme to calculate and pay the applicant's pension is the last one to which they belonged. However, priority rules may apply instead: this is the case when the insured was last a member of two aligned schemes at the same time or when Lura does not apply to their last scheme of membership.
The member's single retirement pension is calculated and paid as if they had belonged to only one of their participating schemes.
Calculation formula
A Survivor's pension or widowhood allowance corresponding to part of the retirement pension that the deceased claimant received or could have received may be paid to the surviving spouse.
Survivor's retirement pensions and the widowhood allowance are paid by:
The survivor's retirement pension is intended for surviving spouses and ex-spouses. It is not awarded automatically but subject to specific age and income tests:
If the deceased spouse had been married more than once, the survivor's retirement pension will be prorated and shared among the surviving spouses based on the length of each marriage.
The amount of the survivor's retirement pension may not exceed 54% of the deceased spouse's pension or the pension to which the deceased spouse would have been entitled.
It cannot amount to less than €331.94 (minimum amount, January 2025) if the deceased spouse or ex-spouse had accrued 60 quarters under the basic scheme. If they had accrued fewer than 60 quarters, this minimum is proportionally reduced.
The surviving spouse can be awarded a pension increase of €112.58 per month (January 2025) if s/he has at least one child under the age of 20 and is not drawing a personal retirement pension.
A 10% increase applies for surviving spouses who have raised three or more children.
Persons having reached the qualifying age for a full pension, having claimed the retirement pensions to which they are entitled and whose total pension income does not exceed €997.71 per month (January 2025) are entitled to an 11.1% increase in the amount of the survivor's retirement pension.
* Civil unions (Pacs) and common-law partnerships (concubinage) do not entitle the surviving partner to a survivor's pension.
The widowhood allowance can be paid for 2 years to any person under 50 years of age (for 5 years to surviving spouses of 50 years of age):
The widowhood allowance is paid at a rate of €713.17 per month (January 2025).
For more information, visit L'assurance Retraite's website.
Children who have lost both parents may receive an orphan's pension (the death must have occurred on September 1st, 2023 or after) for each parent. The orphan's pension amounts to 54% of each deceased parent's main pension. If there is more than one orphan, the total pensions awarded must not exceed the main pension the deceased would have received (split equally between the beneficiaries in this case).
The orphan's pension can be served until the age of 21. Its payment may be extended within the limit of 4 years when the beneficiary's occupational income does not exceed 55% SMIC. It may be granted without age limit for people with a disability (also means-tested).
Membership in a supplementary retirement pension scheme is compulsory for all employees subject to statutory old-age insurance through the general social security scheme.
For private-sector employees, supplementary pensions are administered by the Agirc-Arrco scheme, which is the result of the January 1, 2019, merger of the Arrco scheme (Association for Employees' Supplementary Pension Schemes), covering all categories of employees, with the Agirc scheme (General Association of Retirement Institutions for Executives), covering only managerial and executive staff (“cadre” status).
Like the basic retirement pension scheme, Agirc-Arrco functions on a pay-as-you-go basis: the contributions paid by salaried workers and the employers are immediately used to pay current retirees' pensions.
It is a point-based system: each year, an individual's contributions are converted to retirement pension points and added to his/her account. To calculate the amount of your retirement pension, just multiply your number of points by the value of the point, which is determined each year.
Supplementary retirement pension contributions are calculated based on the pay components that go into the Social security contribution basis. The Agirc-Arrco scheme uses a 2-salary-bracket contribution basis. A separate contribution rate applies to each salary bracket and is shared between the employer (60%) and the employee (40%).
| Basis | Employee's rate | Employer's rate | Total | Point calculation rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bracket 1: up to €3,925 (1 monthly Social security ceiling) | 3.15% | 4.72% | 7.87% | 6.2% |
| Bracket 2: between €3,925 and €31,400 (8 times the social security ceilings) | 8.64% | 12.95% | 21.59% | 17% |
Bracket 1: up to the social security ceiling.
Bracket 2: comprised between 1 et 8 times the social security ceiling:
The adjusted contribution rate is the contractual contribution rate (or point calculation rate) multiplied by an adjustment factor of 127%. Points accrued by employees on the basis of paid contributions (employee's share + employer's share) are calculated using the contributions resulting from the application of the point calculation rate. The surplus calculations that result from the application of the adjustment factor are used to finance the Agirc-Arrco scheme.
Each year the point purchase value is set. It is used to determinate the number of points accrued in a year.
Annual point purchase value for 2025: €20.1877.
Depending on the employee's status (executive (cadre) or not), two or three additional contributions are withheld:
Please also see: table of social security contribution rates and ceilings.
France's supplementary retirement pension schemes are point-based.
Points are determined by taking into account both those accrued through contributions and those awarded with no payment of contributions, i.e.:
Points may be bought back for the years of higher education and incomplete years, subject to certain conditions. 140 points may be bought back for each year of higher education or incomplete year, within the limit of 3 years
Three factors are used to calculate retirement pension points: contribution basis, point calculation rate, and point purchase value.
Number of points = Contribution basis × Point accrual rate / Point purchase value
A supplementary retirement pension is awarded at the full rate to individuals:
A supplementary retirement pension can be awarded at the full rate before the statutory age if the applicant has been awarded his/her basic retirement pension on the basis of a long career or on the basis of permanent inability to work.
An insured who asks for payment of their supplementary retirement pension but who has not reached the statutory retirement age or met the length of insurance required is awarded a final reduced-rate supplementary retirement pension.
An insured with two years remaining before they reach statutory retirement age but who has accrued 150 quarters under the basic retirement scheme, is eligible for the progressive retirement program, provided that they reduce their professional activity (to no less than 40% and no more than 80%) and are awarded a progressive pension under their basic retirement scheme.
The Agirc-Arrco scheme rolled out a temporary pension increase/ decrease system..
This system only applies to members who were born on or after January 1st, 1957, and who were eligible for a full-rate Agirc-Arrco retirement pension before 1st December 2023.
Following the change of the statutory retirement age, the temporary decrease scheme no longer applies to any pensions.
The temporary increase scheme does not apply to people born on or after 1st September 1961, whose basic pension took effect from 1st December 2023.
The gross amount of the supplementary retirement pension is calculated as follows:
The amount of a member's pension is proportional to their earned income over their entire career, not just their 25 best-earning years as is the case for the basic scheme.
There are two types of child-related top-ups:
These two top-ups cannot be awarded at the same time. Those who qualify for both are awarded the higher of the two.
If the dependent child top-up turns out to be higher, the member's top-up entitlements are compared every time one of their children ceases to be a dependent. When they stop drawing the dependent-child top-up, they will be able to qualify for the top-up for having or raising children.
Both parents can benefit from supplements on their complementary pension.
Agirc-Arrco child-related top-ups are calculated based on the employee's entitlements, without taking account of any permanent downrating factors.
Upon the death of a salaried worker or pensioner, some of his or her complementary pension may be paid to one or more beneficiaries, called rightful claimants.
The beneficiaries of the survivor's pension are: the spouse or widow(er), the ex-spouse or ex-spouses, orphans having lost both parents.
Unlike the basic scheme, the survivor's pension is not means-tested.
A surviving spouse or surviving former spouse (who has not remarried) may qualify for a survivor's pension. Surviving domestic and civil union (Pacs) partners are not eligible for a survivor's pension.
Age requirements:
Unlike under the basic scheme, this survivor's pension is awarded with no means test.
The pension amounts to 60% of the late spouse's accrued entitlement.
Survivor's pension = Total of the deceased employee's or pensioner's points × point value × 60%
Under the Agirc-Arrco scheme, only a child who has lost both parents can receive a survivor's pension:
Survivor's pension payments to orphans stop when the orphan reaches age 21 or 25 (or prior to that age, if the orphan is no longer a student, apprentice, or jobseeker without benefits), if they are no longer unfit for work, or if they have undergone a full adoption.
An orphan can be awarded a pension on the basis of each parent's entitlements.
If the remaining parent's death occurred after January 1st, 2019, the orphans' Agirc-Arrco survivor's pension will amount to 50% of the entitlements accrued by one or both parents.
To learn more: www.agirc-arrco.fr