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Calculation of the pension of the private sector employee

Verified 01 January 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

The amount of your retirement pension paid by the General Social Security Pension Insurance Scheme depends on your duration of insurance and the average annual income of 25 years the most advantageous of your career.

The amount of your retirement pension under the general Social Security Pension Insurance Plan is determined as follows:

Average annual income x Pension rate x (Your general pension insurance term - limited to the insurance term to obtain a pension full rate / Duration of insurance to obtain a full rate pension)

Your pension insurance term is listed on your career statement (or individual status report).

If your period of insurance under the general scheme is at least equal to the period of insurance to obtain a full-rate pension, you receive a full (full-rate) pension.

If it is lower, you receive a reduced (or pro-rated) pension.

The amount of the pension of supplementary pension is derived from a different formula, based on the rules established by the Agirc-Arco scheme.

Please note

The amount paid is revalued at 1er January of each year.

Calculation method

Your average annual salary is determined by averaging the gross salaries that gave rise to pension insurance contributions during the 25 years the most advantageous of your career.

All pay elements (basic salary, bonuses, overtime) and daily maternity benefits are taken into account for the calculation of the average annual salary.

If you worked for less than 25 years, your average annual salary is equal to the average of your gross wages during those years of work.

FYI  

Salaries withheld throughout your career are subject to a upgrading annual to take account of inflation.

Revenues excluded from the calculation

If your annual revenues exceed social security ceiling of the year in question, the fraction of your income that exceeds this ceiling is not taken into account.

And, if your annual revenues are less than an amount, which varies depending on the year, they are also not taken into account.

Tableau - Minimum remuneration below which income is not taken into account

Years of work

Amount below which your income is not taken into account

Before 1972

Quarterly amount of theallowance for older employed persons (AVTS) calculated at 1er January of the year in which you worked

From 1972 to 2013

Amount of Hourly minimum in force during each period worked, multiplied by 200 hours

Since 2014

Amount of Smic: titleContent hours in effect during the period worked, multiplied by 150 hours (for 2023, less than €1,690.50)

FYI  

Compensation received in the year of retirement shall not be taken into account.

The basic pension formula applies a rate to the average annual salary, calculated on the basis of the following criteria:

  • Your pension insurance term all basic schemes combined
  • Any periods recognized as equivalent
  • Age at which you apply for retirement

You can benefit from the maximum rate, set at 50%, if you meet one of the following 2 conditions:

  • You fill out the term of insurance all basic schemes qualifying for the full rate
  • Or you're 67

If you retire before the age of 67 with an insurance period, regardless of the basic plan, shorter than the period required to qualify for the full rate, your rate is reduced (discount).

If you retire with a period of insurance, regardless of the basic plan, longer than the period required to qualify for the full rate, your rate is increased (overvaluation).

In order to receive a full pension, you must have proof of a period of insurance under the general social security scheme equivalent to that required to obtain full rate.

Example :

An employee born in 1961 receives a full pension if his period of insurance under the general scheme only is 168 quarters (42 years).

If your period of insurance under the general social security scheme is less than the period required to obtain a full-rate pension, your pension is calculated in proportion to your actual period of insurance.

From your pension account on the site Retirement Info, you can perform a simulation of the amount of your pension at different ages (section My Retirement Estimate).

Retirement Info - Estimate my retirement amount

The retirement pension shall be subject, except where exempted, to the following contributions:

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