Phased retirement: risks and strategies to know

This solution allows, from the age of 60, to reduce your professional activity while receiving part of your pension. To qualify, three conditions must be met: having contributed at least 150 quartershaving reached therequired age and exercise part-time activity (between 40% and 80% of full time). “ Even though progressive retirement has existed since the 90s, it has long remained in the shadowsexplains Laure Moudenc, managing director of Ombello, a retirement and remuneration consultancy firm. There has been a resurgence of interest since the COVID-19 crisis but it represents less than 1% of pensions paid ».

The hidden risk

If progressive retirement is a right, regulated by the Seniors Act – the employer must now justify any refusal by economic imperatives – it includes a variable that must be understood. A person chooses this system, at age 61 for example with 60% working time, that is 60% salary and 40% pension. If her employer dismisses her or imposes a contractual termination on her, two consequences must be taken into account.

“ The payment of the pension stops because it is linked to the exercise of an activityalerts the general director. Then, unemployment benefits are lower since theReturn to Employment Allowance (ARE) is calculated on the basis of the last salaries received, therefore the part-time salary, and not on the former full income “. All without the pension supplement and without recourse since the law prohibits requesting progressive retirement if one is unemployed, an activity must be in progress.

Points of attention to remember

There are a few topics on which it is necessary to be vigilant. “ If you negotiate a raise or change employer and your new part-time income exceeds your old full-time salary, your pension payment is canceled from the first day of the following month », underlines Laure Moudenc. Without forgetting the disparity between the funds which means that the employee only receives the basic pension, considerably reducing the expected financial gain. “ If the basic scheme is systematically paid pro rata, certain supplementary funds (such as Agirc-Arrco) may apply different terms “, she notes.

The other point of attention Please note, your employer cannot offer you to terminate your contract as part of a gradual retirement », alerts the expert. The correct answer? L’amendmentto ensure that the benefits acquired are maintained. To deal with the complexity of the estimates and the issues of the premium, do not hesitate to seek help from a social law advisor or representative bodies (CSE). The objective is to establish a constructive dialogue with the employer.

A possible strategy

To eliminate the impact of part-time work on your future pension, you can request the possibility of contribute on a full-time basiswith the agreement of management. The advantage? You continue to acquire rights as if you were working 100%. “ Certainly, this implies higher social security contributions (salary and employer), slightly impacting the net salarydescribes Laure Moudenc. But this preserves the amount of the ARE in the event of dismissal and that of the final pension “.