French Old Age Pension

[pachapapa]

I was told that 10 years was required, if less get stuffed.

Geordie politeness!

[KathyF]

[quote user="pachapapa"]

I was told that 10 years was required, if less get stuffed.

Geordie politeness!

[/quote]

That used to be the case, PPP, but the rules have changed and for those reaching retirement age after April 2010, every year of contributions up to the maximum of 30 years will generate a certain amount of pension. My husband has just benefited from this at age 65, whereas I, retiring at 60, 5 years ago, missed out because I had less than 10 years.

[idun]

PPP that certainly was the case. You could have made voluntary contributions then you would have got something, it was a pretty good investment too, the trick of course was staying alive to get it.

[pachapapa]

[quote user="KathyF"][quote user="pachapapa"]

I was told that 10 years was required, if less get stuffed.

Geordie politeness!

[/quote] That used to be the case, PPP, but the rules have changed and for those reaching retirement age after April 2010, every year of contributions up to the maximum of 30 years will generate a certain amount of pension. My husband has just benefited from this at age 65, whereas I, retiring at 60, 5 years ago, missed out because I had less than 10 years.[/quote]

I reached 65 years long before 2010 as well.[:)]

[powerdesal]

[quote user="suein56"][quote user="NormanH"]What would happen at retirement age in the UK if the person concerned hadn't contributed?  I don't know..it's a real question. [/quote]

I do; as I am in this situation. You get nothing.

Sue

[/quote]

Extracted from a UK advisory site.....''Pension Credit

Pension Credit is a benefit for people over sixty. It is based on the amount of money that you have coming in.

Pension Credit is made up of guarantee credit and savings credit. The guarantee credit of Pension Credit tops up your weekly income to a guaranteed level. The savings credit is for people who have a small amount of their own income or savings. You may be entitled to the guarantee credit or the savings credit, or both. You can claim Pension Credit whether or not you are still working. You do not need to have paid any national insurance contributions.

Pension Credit is administered by The Pension Service.''

The penultimate sentence is, I believe, relevant to 'suein56'

[suein56]

[quote user="powerdesal"]You do not need to have paid any national insurance contributions.

Pension Credit is administered by The Pension Service.''

The penultimate sentence is, I believe, relevant to 'suein56'[/quote]

Yes I agree, thank you for your concern.

Unfortunately, or rather fortunately - depending on which way you choose to look at the situation - I do have savings so am not entitled to a pension or pension credit in my own right.

Sue

[mjmc]

IS there a minimum pension amount in France?   My husband is just applying and we are not aware if there is such a thing.   If so, it would be nice to know what it is at this time...

Does anyone know this?

[mjmc]

IS there a minimum pension amount in France?   My husband is just applying and we are not aware if there is such a thing.   If so, it would be nice to know what it is at this time... Does anyone know this?

IS there a minimum pension amount in France?   My husband is just applying and we are not aware if there is such a thing.   If so, it would be nice to know what it is at this time... Does anyone know this?

 Is there a minimum old-age pension amount in France?

[idun]

I'm not sure what you are talking about here, do you want something from the french state which you haven't paid into? If so, I suppose that there is, from the age of 65, but  this will be classed as a specific benefit and other income will be taken into account if you are claiming a french benefit like this.

Otherwise if you have paid into the french system ie working in France a full working life history is taken into account from France and other EU countries. And then in our case, they contacted us approx five years before the retirement dates to start the dossier. People can end up on tiny french pensions for many reasons, so minimum within the french pension scheme, can be very very small.

[mjmc]

My husband is a French native and did pay in.   His contributions there are limited as he has been here since 1983 or so, and so we expect his US SS contributions will help with the required # of quarters.

 

I also ask because the US social security "world" pension pages indicate that there is a minimum paid of about $690 euros, but I have no way of knowing if they are correct about that.

[NormanH]

The amount you get as a pension depends on how much you paid in and for how many years.

There is not a minimum, but if it drops very low it may be paid in one lump sum.

Don't think that having paid in a certain amount your husband will automatically entitled to 690€

It could be above or well below that.

https://www.lassuranceretraite.fr/cs/Satellite/PUBPrincipale/Salaries/Droits-Cas-Par-Cas-Salaries/En-Cas-Activites-France-Etranger/Calcul-Retraite-Activites-Etranger?packedargs=null

On the other hand as indicated earlier in the thread if you have a very low income all sources included there may be help available.

[mjmc]

The website above indicates my husband should receive "Vous obtiendrez automatiquement
une retraite à taux plein à : 65"; from what I can tell, that means he should receive a full pension at 65.  He is now 67, will be 68 this year and just applied.

I don't know what that means exactly, and don't know if you will, but am I interpreting that properly?   Would this perhaps mean the number of quarters/ salary no longer matters once you reach 65 or is that too much to hope for?

Also, would you happen to know about how long it takes to get a ruling and begin receiving benefits after application?  Ball-park?

He was also entitled to a small Swiss retirement.  They paid him back to the date he should have begun receiving his benefit, i.e., for over two years' worth.  Does France do the same?

Vous êtes né le :	23/11/1945
Vous pouvez partir à la retraite à l'âge de :	60 ans
Point de départ possible de votre retraite le :	01/12/2005
Durée d'assurance pour obtenir une retraite à taux plein :	160 trimestres (en l'état actuel de la législation)
Vous obtiendrez automatiquement une retraite à taux plein à :	65 ans
Date à laquelle vous obtiendrez automatiquement une retraite à taux plein :	01/12/2010

[NormanH]

The potential catch there is that "une retraite à taux plein" is dependent on having 160 trimestres of contributions paid in to the system(160 quarters). Less and the amount is reduced.

After that the amount of the pension is dependant on the average salary over a period multiplied by the taux.

You can see how it is calculated here

https://www.lassuranceretraite.fr/cs/Satellite/PUBPrincipale/Salaries/Droits-Cas-Par-Cas-Salaries/En-Cas-Activites-France-Etranger/Calcul-Retraite-Activites-Etranger/Calcul-Retraite-Activites-Etranger-Zone-Reglementaire?packedargs=null

[idun]

There is a maximum, but one has to have had a very good salary over a long period to get that. The 'taux plein' is a variable figure.

Only CARSAT/CRAM can answer your particular question. They can be very very slow.