An adjustment linked to the 2023 pension reform continues to be applied file by file for certain beneficiaries who receive a small pension. Who is affected?
March 2026 could hold a pleasant surprise for some retirees with modest incomes. Since the 2023 reform, the contributory minimum, integrated into the basic pension, has been raised to increase the floor level of small pensions. Not all situations were updated at the same time. The Retirement Insurance funds are therefore continuing verifications and recalculations. When a file is regularized, the increase appears directly on the monthly payment. Depending on the progress of treatments, this could be seen as early as spring 2026, sometimes as early as March.
The contributory minimum guarantees a minimum amount to people who retire with a full rate, but a low basic pension. To be eligible, several conditions must be met. You must first have obtained your full rate basic pension. You must also have paid all your pensions, basic and supplementary. Finally, the total personal pensions must not exceed a ceiling set by regulation. If this ceiling is exceeded, the supplement is reduced. The mechanism is simple: if the pension calculated over career is lower than the guaranteed threshold, a supplement is paid to reach this level, within the authorized limit.
In 2024, the simple contributory minimum would be around 750 euros gross per month. The increased version, reserved for policyholders with at least 120 quarters of contributions, was around 900 euros gross. These amounts change each year with legal adjustments. The exact amount therefore depends on the year of payment and the situation of each insured person. The supplement paid varies according to the number of quarters contributed, the initial amount of the pension and the level of supplementary pensions.
It is in this context that certain increases could reach up to 100 euros per month during the first updates after the reform. Adjustments appear on the monthly payment statement. No special request is in principle necessary, the minimum contribution being allocated automatically when the conditions are met. Thus, the retirees most likely to see their pension increase are those who have worked their entire lives with salaries close to the minimum wage, validated a large number of quarters and obtained their full pension, while remaining below the overall authorized pension ceiling.
This supplement is not automatic, it does not concern everyone and in some cases, the increase is lower. In others, there is no change if the ceiling has already been reached. Retirees can then check their situation via their personal online space.
