They would be a million now placed in the viewfinder of Bercy. In an exclusive interview with Le Parisien Aujourd'hui en France, Gabriel Attal, the Minister of Action and Public Accounts, unveiled his plan for the control of retirees over 85 years old living abroad, in particular to ensure that they are still alive.
This announcement follows an experiment conducted since September in Algeria, during which 300 files of retirees "almost centenarians" out of 1,000 files studied were declared non-compliant, said the minister who recalled that more than a million pensions were paid abroad, half of which outside Europe and 300,000 in Algeria.
It is also the country welcoming the most French retirees, according to the latest figures from the CNAV, ahead of Portugal, Spain or Italy. In detail, the National Old-Age Insurance Fund reveals that among these retirees, 90% live on two continents: Africa (42%) and Europe (47%). In total, this one million pensioners represents 7% of all pensioners.
Older than those living in France
With an average overall monthly pension of €284, "the annual mass paid to retirees residing abroad is 3.8 billion, or 3% of the total pension benefits paid by the general scheme in 2021". These retirees receive much less income than those in metropolitan France. "Insured persons who reside abroad had a shorter career in France, justifyingon average fewer quarters. The distribution by country of residence also testifies to the migratory history and, in particular, to the immigration of temporary work, "details the Parisian Cnav.
In addition to the Maghreb, we also find all border countries in those that are the most popular with French retirees (Belgium, Germany and Switzerland in the top 10). More surprising, in the middle of the United States, United Kingdom or other Israel, Serbia has 10,000 French retirees. For the record, it should be noted that the CNAV lists retirees in more than 200 countries, 10 in Puerto Rico, seven in Nepal or 16 in Ethiopia.
" READ ALSO Social fraud: how the government wants to strengthen the control of retirees living abroad
In all these countries, they are, on average, older than their counterparts in France, with, for example, 34% of 80-89 year olds abroad against 19% of retired residents of France on the same age group.
Also in connection with abroad, Gabriel Attal also announced that he wanted to "strengthen" the conditions of residence in France "to benefit from social benefits". It will now be necessary to spend nine months of the year in the country, against six currently planned, to benefit from family allowances or the minimum old-age pension, says the minister. The same applies to housing benefits (APL) which require only eight months of presence for the moment.
