Pension reform: something new!

As part of the pension reform, two decrees recently published specify the conditions for buying back certain quarters and obtaining a “premium for parenting” and take into account periods of professional integration internships for retirement.

Note: These new measures apply to retirement pensions awarded as of September 1st, 2023.

Buying back quarters

In order to complete their career, insured persons have the possibility to buy back up to 12 quarters for their years of higher education. From now on, such a buyback benefits from a reduced cost when the buy-back application is submitted until the insured person reaches the age of 40 and no longer within 10 years of the end of the studies.

Insured persons can also complete their career by buying back quarters (up to a limit of 2 quarters) for internships of more than 2 months that they have completed in a company as part of their higher education. To be valid, the buy-back application must now be made before the end of the calendar year of the insured’s 30th birthday (no longer within 2 years of the end of his internship).

Premium for parenting

The pension reform introduced a pension increase (bonus) for parents for the year preceding the statutory retirement age. This premium applies to parents who:
- have obtained at least one quarter of increase for a child (maternity, education, adoption, etc.).
- and who can prove the contribution period required to receive a full retirement pension.

In concrete terms, each additional quarter, validated between the ages of 63 and 64, gives rise to a pension increase of 1.25% (i.e., a maximum premium of 5%). In this respect, it has been specified that increases and bonuses for children obtained in a pension scheme (liberal professions, non-salaried agricultural employees, etc.) are taken into account to benefit from the right to parental premium in another pension scheme.

Internship periods included

Certain periods of internships introduced by the State for promoting professional integration, especially for young people, which did not systematically allow the validation of retirement quarters are now taken into account.

Thus, community work (TUC(1)), practical internships in companies (Plan “Barre”), “Young volunteers” internships, introductory courses to professional life and local integration programs give rise to the validation of quarters.

(1) Travaux d’Utilité Collective (TUC).