This is the newness of the start of the school year for senior workers who wish to develop their end of career. The gradual retirement system has been open from the age of 60 since September 1. A welcome return to One of the consequences of the pension reform From 2023, and which will allow candidates to benefit from this still poorly known mechanism from the French. But what does progressive retirement consist of precisely? What is its impact on your income? How to ask for it in good and due form? Valérie Batigne, manager of Sapiendo specialized firm, tells you what you need to know about this particular retirement.
What has changed for progressive retirement since September 1, 2025?
Valérie Batigne: The novelty for this device is that it is now accessible from 60 years old. The age of opening of progressive retirement has so far been set at two years before the legal departure age, that is to say between 60 and 62 years old, According to the year of birth of the worker. As a reminder, the pension reform (which gradually repels the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 years, editor’s note) had shifted this age terminal. The national interprofessional agreement in favor of the employment of experienced employees of November 2024 (transposed into the law in the summer of 2025, editor’s note) makes it possible to retire gradual at 60 years. It is much more readable.
For the rest, nothing changes. The mechanism consists in being partly retired and partly in activity. You have to ask for a part -time from your employer, between 40% and 80%, the additional income comes from retirement. For example, if you are 80% part -time, you will receive 80% of your activity income and a fifth of your pension. And it is always necessary having validated 150 quarters to claim gradual retirement.
What loss of income should be expected with progressive retirement?
There is indeed a loss of income since retirement is lower than activity income. In addition, the retirement to which you are entitled is a provisional pension calculated with the elements of your career at 60 years old. So you can undergo a discount. During progressive retirement, you therefore gain less, in variable proportions. For example, with a part -time time of 80%, if you already have a lot of validated quarters, you will receive 90% of your activity income.
Does progressive retirement have an impact on the pension paid during the final departure?
During gradual retirement, we continue to contribute. When you liquidate your retirement, it will therefore be recalculated, with more quarters. But contributions are based on activity salary. In most cases, you will continue to validate four quarters per year, but you will get less points to Agirc-Arrco additional retirement (for private employees, editor’s note) since your salary will be lower. Note that the company can accept to additional100%, even if you are part -time, which will limit this impact.
Only 31,368 people were in gradual retirement at the end of 2024. Why was this mechanism so little used?
It is first of all linked to a relative ignorance of progressive retirement. In addition, remember that the two parties are necessary, the worker and his employer. This system requires modifying the employment contract with part -time passage, therefore a legal organization, but also an organization within the company, at the operational level.
And the administrative complexity of this approach should not be underestimated. There may be a lot of delay on the side of the pension fund. In theory, he must send him his request for retirement five months before his 60 years. In parallel, it is necessary to warn your employer at the latest at the latest before the start of progressive retirement, that is to say the deadline to justify his possible refusal, refusal that must be motivated by the incompatibility of the working hours requested with the economic activity of the company. If he does not respond within two months, the employer’s agreement is deemed to be acquired. To maximize his chances of obtaining his progressive retirement in time, it is therefore necessary in theory to ask for the agreement of his employer seven months before.
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