120 euros per month offered as french pension.... can anyone give advice...

[Blade]

a friend of mine is now in dire straits. they worked and contributed the necessary amounts of years into the pension service in france and in the UK. they worked approx the last 10 years in france. now that they are of pension age they get their basic uk state pension approx 80 pounds per week i believe and 120 euros from the french system from this month.

until then they were getting the AEM (not sure if it is the exact spelling) which gave them 900 euros per month so this was easier to live on and were due to get until 65. Apparently the people who did not contribute or did not work are allowed to still get this 900 euros. I am confused how this can be the case . can anyone enlighten me? does anyone knoz how this works and what does exist if anything?

 

thanks in  advance

[Teamedup]

French pensions are based on many things.

A full working life being the most important ie having worked for the full number of years, this need  not only be in France but other EU countries too, but must come up to the full number of years.

Then it is based on how much one has earned during a certain number of trimestres, I think it works out to about those of the last 20 years. The CRAM have a figure that they calculate from.

 

This is all based on individual calculations and none of us can comment on why your friends only got 120 euros per month. The french pensions people and Newcastle are in touch with one another well before one retires and one is informed of what is happening well before one retires too.

 

I imagine if they only worked 10 years then they would only get a quarter of a french pension if they qualified for the full working time. And to get the maximum out of the system would have had to have earned the maximum pension threshold or above, during that time.

 

Feel like I am sinking in mud trying to explain this.

I reckon it would be very easy to end up with little though I know people who have ended up with little. The CRAM will explain it all to them. There could be a mistake, so maybe they should speak to them.

[andyh4]

Blade,

if your friend was working in France for the last 10 years why wasn't his pension transferred from the UK to France under the E215 (I think) regulations?

 

[Blade]

what is the E215 form? thanks in advance

[andyh4]

I've had a chance to check and its the E205 process.  As I understand it (bear in mind I am doing this in Germany, have received no UK documentation and only scant German documentation.) if you move "permenantly" to another EU country and continue to work in that country your pension contributions in the UK are transferred to your adopted countrey's scheme.  You are then credited with having paid into the adoptive countries scheme according to their rules ( so for example 30 years contributions in the UK are counted as 30 years contributions in Germany, but credited years may or may not count depending on local rules - or so it seems at the moment).

[Debra]

.

[Teamedup]

We have always kept up voluntary contributions to the UK and as I said, as far as I am aware the only thing that is tranferable is the notion of time worked.