Retirement Planning

What Our Retirement Planning Service in France Covers

Our retirement planning engagement is partner-led and built around the client’s actual career history, current residence, and target retirement residence. The scope is shaped page by page in the engagement letter; a typical retirement planning France engagement covers:

• Entitlement assessment — French régime de base (CNAV/CARSAT), AGIRC-ARRCO points, individual long-horizon savings (PER, Madelin, Article 83-legacy), and any foreign career years the individual holds.
• Career reconciliation — year-by-year reconstruction of French and foreign career years, with the records each scheme requires to validate the resulting entitlement.
• PER contribution strategy — deductibility ceilings, employee vs employer share, PER individuel vs PER collectif, the matching position, catch-up contribution for those aged 50 and over, and the integration of pre-PER vehicles into the new framework.
• Drawdown planning — annuity, lump-sum, partial conversion, withdrawal sequencing, and the fiscal treatment of each option at the recipient’s marginal rate.
• Drawdown treatment — French treatment of French sources, French treatment of foreign sources for residents, treaty allocation for non-residents who continue to receive a French annuity after they leave the country.
• Health and long-duration care — French statutory cover on retirement (Assurance Maladie), supplementary mutuelle, the cover position for incoming and outgoing retirees, and the long-duration care (dépendance) provisions clients should plan in advance.
• Régime des impatriés interaction — for the impatriate executive, the fiscal position on contributions during and after the eight-year impatriation window, and the impact on French and foreign career-year build-up.
• Exit and inbound planning — Article 167 bis CGI exit tax on departure, treaty allocation on arrival, and the tax planning required for a client choosing to retire outside France or to retire in France after a foreign career.
• Personal balance sheet review — assets, debts (mortgage, credit, student loans), recurring expenses, residual saving, investment portfolios, insurance cover, and the residual estate position.

The French Pension Framework — Three Layers

A French retirement structure is built from three layers, and a sound design addresses each in turn.

Layer 1 — Statutory entitlement (régime de base).** Managed by CNAV/CARSAT for the private sector, MSA for agricultural workers, the URSSAF-merged scheme for the self-employed, and separate regimes for civil servants and special professions. Contributions are mandatory throughout the working career; the resulting benefit is calculated on the best 25 years of earnings (private sector) up to the social security ceiling. The 2025 PASS (plafond annuel de la sécurité sociale) is €47,100 (URSSAF, 2025) — a description of the base for many contribution and benefit calculations, with a hard ceiling per Code de la sécurité sociale.

Layer 2 — Supplementary mandatory regime (AGIRC-ARRCO). A points scheme, mandatory for private-sector employees, with the employer and employee shares running alongside the régime de base. The points accumulated through the career convert to a monthly benefit, with adjustments for the age at which the worker decides to start drawing. AGIRC-ARRCO is the principal vehicle that helps salaried workers secure a meaningful supplement to the statutory benefit.

Layer 3 — Individual long-horizon savings. Plan d’Épargne Retraite (PER), introduced by Loi PACTE n°2019-486 of 22 May 2019, with three forms — PER individuel, PER collectif (workplace-sponsored), and PER obligatoire — replacing earlier vehicles (PERP, Madelin, Article 83). PER contributions are deductible from taxable revenue within annual limits set by the Code général des impôts; drawdown is available as annuity, lump-sum (within defined conditions), or a combination. PER is the central long-term saving tool for French residents and impatriate executives during their working years, and it is the vehicle to which most clients contribute throughout the working life.

A readiness assessment will weigh each layer, estimate the projected monthly benefit and lump-sum payments at the desired age, and determine the additional saving and investing required to reach the client’s lifestyle goal.

Retirement Planning France vs Retirement Planning Internationally

The French system differs in structure from the systems most expat executives encounter elsewhere, and the contrasts shape the planning work.

United States. A US client coming to France typically holds an IRA, 401(k), or other workplace-sponsored deferred account, alongside Social Security entitlement and Medicare cover from age 65. Under the France–United States treaty, US pension money is generally taxable in France for residents, with a credit for the US levy suffered, while the IRA and 401(k) face French levy on distributions. There is no French Medicare equivalent — Assurance Maladie covers French residents, including retirees, with supplementary mutuelle cover for the residual. The federal compensation framework familiar to US executives — workplace match, catch-up after age 50, defined-contribution vs defined-benefit — has French analogues in PER and AGIRC-ARRCO, but the rules, ceilings, and limit positions differ.

United Kingdom. A UK client typically holds a State Pension entitlement, occupational and individual arrangements, and an ISA portfolio. Post-Brexit, EU Regulation 883/2004 no longer applies and the UK–France bilateral position is governed by the protocol on social security coordination annexed to the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, and by the UK–France treaty. The 25% commencement lump-sum that is tax-free in the UK is not automatically tax-free in France; the French treatment of the UK lump-sum calls for a treaty and Code général des impôts review.

Italy. INPS contributions and Italian supplementary entitlements (previdenza complementare) coordinate with French entitlements under EU Regulation 883/2004 for cross-border careers, with the totalisation of years across member states.

Cross-border families and dual residents. Where the family has a foreign residence and the executive a French career — or vice versa — the planning addresses fiscal residence, social security affiliation, the location of the family home, and the succession position alongside the pension build-up.

The French Regulatory Landscape

French retirement planning operates inside a structured set of rules. The named regulatory entities and texts that shape the work include:

• Code de la sécurité sociale — statutory pension and contribution framework
• Code monétaire et financier — PER and long-horizon saving vehicles
• Code général des impôts — tax treatment of contributions, pension income, lump-sum drawdowns, and exit tax (Article 167 bis)
• DGFiP (Direction générale des Finances publiques) — the tax authority that administers income tax and the régime des impatriés
• URSSAF — collection of social security contributions for the self-employed and across the contribution system
• AGIRC-ARRCO — the federation managing supplementary mandatory pensions for private-sector employees
• AMF (Autorité des marchés financiers) — the market authority overseeing PER providers and long-horizon saving products
• Ordre des Experts-Comptables (OEC) — the regulator of the chartered accountancy profession
• Loi PACTE n°2019-486 of 22 May 2019 — the reform that created the PER framework
• EU Regulation 883/2004 — coordination of social security systems within the EU
• Bilateral tax treaties and social security agreements — between France and non-EU jurisdictions

Treaty allocation is decisive in the cross-border setting. Most French treaties allocate scheme taxation between the source country and the residence country, and the specific article applicable to the source type — government schemes, private schemes, social security schemes — controls the outcome. A reverse case — French scheme income paid to a non-resident retired abroad — is a particularly frequent question for our team.

A Retirement Readiness Assessment — How the Work Runs

A retirement plan begins with a practical assessment. It runs as follows.

Step 1 — Personal balance sheet and goal-setting. We gather pension statements (French and foreign), PER and Madelin contracts, mortgage and loan balances, savings and investment statements, and insurance policies. We agree the chosen age, the lifestyle goal, and the monthly income target.

Step 2 — Entitlement estimate. We assess the projected régime de base, AGIRC-ARRCO points, and PER drawdown options at the target age. Where the career has foreign segments, we include the foreign-scheme estimate and the totalisation rules under EU Regulation 883/2004 or the relevant bilateral agreement.

Step 3 — Contribution and saving strategy. We calculate the PER deductibility ceiling, identify the catch-up contribution for those aged 50 and over, and weigh PER individuel vs PER collectif. We compare the marginal levy on contribution today with the projected marginal position on drawdown.

Step 4 — Investment allocation and drawdown. Within PER and other long-horizon vehicles, we examine the asset allocation against the time horizon and the inflation purchasing-power adjustment. We then design the drawdown sequence — which pot to draw first, annuity vs lump-sum, partial conversion, withdrawal rate — and model the cash flow year by year to age 100 as a stress test.

Step 5 — Review and adjustment. We schedule a regular discussion (annually, or on a material event) to adjust the plan for changes in regulation, household setting, career, or markets.

Who Uses Our Retirement Planning Service in France

Our retirement planning clients include:

• Expat executives during their working years in France — planning retirement in France, returning to the home country, or relocating to a third jurisdiction. Each option carries a specific fiscal and entitlement consequence under the treaty framework.
• Returning French nationals consolidating French and foreign career years, with the totalisation rules of EU Regulation 883/2004 or the relevant bilateral agreement and the French treatment of the foreign-source revenue on return.
• Foreign nationals with a French career segment seeking to convert their French entitlements at retirement and to manage the cross-border administration after they leave France.
• Senior executives nearing retirement with stock options, BSPCE, deferred compensation, RSUs, partner-distribution arrangements, and equity-linked long-horizon incentive plans — each with its own fiscal treatment and drawdown timing.
• Self-employed professionals and travailleurs non-salariés (TNS) reviewing the Madelin to PER transition, the URSSAF contribution base, and the recurring-revenue structure for the individual practitioner.
• Private clients with cross-border household situations where annuity revenue, IFI (Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière), succession, health cover, and household equity holdings interact at the time of retirement.

For each profile, the engagement is structured around the actual records the client holds and the projection horizon to the desired retirement age.

Healthcare, Insurance, and Long-Duration Care in Retirement

Assurance Maladie at retirement. French residents retain statutory cover with the same reimbursement percentage as during the working life. There is no Medicare-equivalent age threshold: access depends on residence, not age. The retiree needs to ensure the carte Vitale is active and the médecin traitant is registered.

Supplementary mutuelle. The cover that fills the residual ticket modérateur should be re-examined at retirement, because the employer-funded mutuelle ends. A retiree contract typically costs more than working-age cover, and the difference between offers can be a material cost factor over a 20-year horizon.

Life, disability, and long-duration care (dépendance).** Existing life, disability, and prévoyance contracts need to be reviewed for ongoing relevance — many policies end at retirement age or are no longer cost-effective. Long-duration care cover (assurance dépendance) is a separate market and a credible provision protects the household from a forced sale of the residence to fund care.

Wealth, Estate, and Retirement Together

Retirement planning in France connects to the surrounding wealth and estate questions, and our work integrates them. The mortgage on the residence, the reverse-mortgage option (prêt viager hypothécaire) where relevant, the equity in the operating business, the rental property portfolio, the estate plan (donation, démembrement, household pact), and the IFI position all interact with the retirement structure.

For senior executives, the conversion of stock options, BSPCE, and deferred compensation to a recurring revenue stream — and the fiscal treatment on each instrument — needs to be sequenced alongside the PER drawdown and the statutory start date. The choice of when to start the benefit, when to draw from PER, when to sell or hold equity, and when to gift to the next generation is a single integrated decision rather than five separate ones.

Money, Budgeting, and the Financial Foundation Before Retirement

Behind every credible retirement plan is a household financial foundation. Without an honest budgeting baseline — resources in, expenses out, the residual saving — no retirement projection holds. We help the client set a household budget, track it month to month, and adjust it as circumstances change.

Debt management. A retirement plan that ignores debt is incomplete. The mortgage on the residence, the credit-card balance, any student loan from a foreign career, the auto loan — each affects the cash position and the eligible saving share. Paying down high-cost debt before retirement is one of the most reliable money-management strategies, and it can deliver more impact than an extra contribution.

Emergency reserves. Outside long-horizon retirement provisions, a household needs an emergency reserve — typically three to six months of monthly expenses in an easily accessible account — to handle unforeseen events without forcing an early PER withdrawal. We ensure the reserve is in place before we run the long-horizon plan.

Tools and online resources. The official French tools — Info Retraite, the AGIRC-ARRCO calculator, Mes Aides, the URSSAF simulator — give a public-domain projection of entitlement and contributions. We use those tools alongside our internal model to produce the personalized output for the engagement.

Practical Tips for Building Retirement Readiness

• Start early. PER deductibility, AGIRC-ARRCO point accumulation, and inflation compounding all reward an early start; a plan started in the early career years runs into a materially better drawdown position than one started in the last decade.
• Estimate the resources you will actually have. A credible projection of the recurring benefit and lump-sum payments at the planned age is the starting tool, refreshed each year, against which the residual gap is determined.
• Coordinate foreign and French career years. EU Regulation 883/2004 and bilateral agreements give the entitlement; the records you keep through the career give you the proof.
• Decide the drawdown order in advance. Which account to draw first — régime de base, AGIRC-ARRCO, PER, assurance-vie, equity portfolio — is a fiscally driven decision and is best made in advance rather than under time pressure.
• Plan the health line explicitly. Health cover in retirement is a real budget item; do not assume it will be free, and ensure the mutuelle offer fits the actual needs of the household.
• Consult a chartered, regulated advisor. Pension and product distribution is not advice. A regulated, fee-only advisor will assess the entire position, not a single product, and the guidance should rest on the regulation, the records, and the projected numbers — not a sales script.

Why Interexco for Retirement Planning France

Interexco is a French regulated chartered accountancy firm with over 40 years of supporting executives, expats, and private clients on French and cross-border tax and retirement matters. The Paris HQ at 30 Boulevard Haussmann is supported by offices in Lille, Milan, and Tunis. The team of nearly 50 professionals works in English, French, Italian, Spanish, and Russian and routinely coordinates with French notaires, international counsel, and foreign tax advisers.

Retirement planning at Interexco runs alongside our wealth planning, tax, and corporate practices. For an expat executive with operating-business holdings, accumulated French and foreign pensions, a cross-border family, and a healthcare and insurance position to maintain, that integration is the practical answer to the fragmented advice that pension specialists alone typically cannot deliver. Every engagement is partner-led, the recommendation is documented, and the file is structured to be revisited on a regular schedule as the regulation, the family, and the markets change.

We do not sell product. We do not earn distribution commission. We are a chartered, regulated, fee-only professional firm — the engagement is structured around the client’s interest and the file is built to be defensible on review.

Speak With Our Private Client Team

If you are approaching retirement in France, planning to relocate to or from France in retirement, or reviewing your accumulated entitlements across multiple jurisdictions, schedule an appointment with one of our chartered accountants. We work in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian,Arabic from Paris, Lille, Milan, and Tunis. Reach us by phone at the Paris office, online through the contact form, or in person at the HQ.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does retirement planning in France actually include? Retirement planning in France includes the assessment of statutory entitlement (régime de base, managed by CNAV/CARSAT for the private sector), the supplementary mandatory regime (AGIRC-ARRCO), individual long-horizon savings (PER and pre-PER vehicles), foreign career years where relevant, the fiscal treatment of drawdown revenue, the healthcare and mutuelle cover, and the integration of these elements into the household wealth and estate position. The work covers both the accumulation phase (contributions, deductibility, workplace matching) and the drawdown phase (annuity, lump-sum, withdrawal sequencing, fiscal treatment).

At what age can I retire in France and start drawing a benefit? The statutory retirement age in France is 64 for those born from 1968 onwards under the 2023 reform, with a progressive transition for earlier birth years. The full-rate benefit requires a minimum number of insurance trimesters; below that, a décote applies. Drawing earlier or later than the full-rate age changes the resulting entitlement, and the decision should be made on the basis of a personal projection of the resources available and the goal pursued.

What is the Plan d’Épargne Retraite (PER) and how does it fit into retirement planning in France? The Plan d’Épargne Retraite is the French individual long-horizon savings vehicle introduced by Loi PACTE in 2019. Contributions are deductible from taxable revenue within annual ceilings set by the Code général des impôts; drawdown at retirement is available as annuity, lump-sum (within defined conditions), or a combination. PER is the central long-term saving tool for French residents during their working years, with three sub-forms — individual, collective (employer-sponsored), and obligatoire — and replaces earlier vehicles such as PERP and Madelin.

How are foreign retirement benefits taxed in France for French residents? French residents are taxable on their worldwide revenue, including foreign retirement benefits, subject to bilateral treaty allocation. Most French treaties allocate the taxation right between the source country and the residence country; the specific allocation depends on the treaty article applicable to the benefit type (government, private, social security). For a US client with an IRA and Social Security, for a UK client with State and personal benefits, or for an Italian client with INPS entitlements, the treaty allocation needs to be examined case by case alongside the French levy position.

Can I combine French and foreign career years at retirement? Within the EU, Regulation 883/2004 coordinates the social security systems and allows years from different member states to be aggregated for entitlement purposes — each member state pays its own share of the resulting benefit. Outside the EU, bilateral social security agreements between France and the partner jurisdiction provide similar coordination. Cross-border reconciliation calls for a year-by-year career reconstruction and the supporting records from each scheme.

Should I retire in France or abroad — and how does Interexco help with the decision? Interexco assesses the French fiscal and financial consequences of retiring in France or abroad, including the treaty allocation of retirement revenue, French-source vs foreign-source treatment, exit levy (Article 167 bis CGI) on departure, healthcare access, and asset structuring implications. The personal choice of residence is the client’s; our role is to ensure that the choice is informed by a clear, documented view of the French consequences, alongside foreign advice on the destination jurisdiction.

How does the régime des impatriés interact with retirement planning? The régime des impatriés (Article 155 B CGI) provides favourable revenue treatment during the impatriation period — up to eight years — for incoming expat executives. The interaction with retirement planning includes the deductibility of PER contributions during the regime, the treatment of foreign contributions made during the impatriation, and the exit-levy considerations on departure. The build-up during the impatriation window should be examined jointly with the overall fiscal position to avoid a sub-optimal long-term outcome.

How often should I review my retirement plan? A retirement plan should be examined each year and on every material event — change of residence, change of household setting, change of career or revenue, sale of a business, large inheritance, or significant regulation change. A regular discussion keeps the entitlement estimate, the contribution ceiling, the drawdown projection, and the household wealth position aligned with reality.