Tax and social security deductions
If your tax residence is in France and you are a member of one of France’s compulsory health insurance schemes, your personal and survivor’s retirement pensions may be subject to mandatory deductions:
-
The generalized social security contribution (“Contribution sociale généralisée/ CSG) at a rate of 8.3%, 6,6% or 3.8% (depending on your tax bracket);
-
The social security debt reimbursement contribution (“contribution pour le remboursement de la dette sociale”/ CRDS) at a rate of 0.5%
-
And the additional solidarity and autonomy contribution (“contribution additionnelle de solidarité pour l’autonomie”/ Casa) at a rate of 0.3%.
Consulter le calendrier de paiement de mes retraites
You will be totally exempt from these deductions if you are receiving a non-contributory benefit that is awarded on the basis of a means test, such as the Supplementary disability allowance (“Allocation supplémentaire d’invalidité”/ ASI), the Elderly solidarity allowance (“Allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées”/ ASPA), and the widow or widower’s allowance, or if your reference taxable income (“revenu fiscal de référence”) does not exceed a given threshold.
Pensioners who pay CSG at a reduced rate or who have a full exemption from CSG deductions have a full exemption from Casa deductions at the same time. However, exemptions from CRDS deductions are only granted to pensioners with a full CSG exemption.
Read the article entitled “Low-income benefits”
Health insurance contributions
A health insurance contribution is also deducted from certain supplementary retirement pensions (this does not apply to the supplementary pension program for craftsmen, merchants, manufacturers, and private-practice professionals) and from basic pensions paid abroad. Depending on their personal tax situation, some pensioners may be exempted from this contribution.
Read the article entitled “I have had children”
There are other possible deductions and exemptions. To learn more about mandatory deductions and about exemptions, please refer to your pension schemes’ websites
Declaring your income
Your retirement pension is taxable income that you are required to declare. France’s pension funds generally report your taxable amount to the tax authorities so it appears on your pre-filled tax return.
Most of France’s pension funds will let you register to download your tax certificate. This can be done either through your personal account online or by mailing in an application.
The tax certificate service is available online from here.
For personalized information based on your pension schemes, please log into your pension account.
You can also use this account to :
- access your career history
- and estimate your pension entitlements
