Some business interruptions do not erase your retirement rights. The French system provides for assimilation mechanisms which make it possible to validate quarters and, in certain cases, supplementary retirement points, when your remuneration is interrupted. The issue is toavoid a discount linked to a lack of quarters and preserve the amount of pension. “It is important to remember a major principle: your retirement rights are the counterpart of the payment of contributions”recalls Valérie Batigne, President and founder of Sapiendo.
“However, our system being united, it provides for the granting of retirement rights for certain career interruption situations. » She specifies that these will make it possible to validate both quarters and supplementary retirement points and will thus have almost no impact on the retirement age and the pension amount. “This is the case, for example, with unemployment compensation or illness. Other career breaks will allow only quarters to be validated but not additional retirement points, such as parental educational leave. »
Which periods validate both quarters and supplementary points?
Compensated unemployment makes it possible to validate quarters on the basic regime and awards Agirc‑Arrco points based on duration and compensation. Sick leave and work accidents entitle you to equivalent quarters after a compensation threshold, and additional points can be awarded for the compensated periods. Valid maternity leave for quarters via daily allowances and is added to the increases linked to children, useful to reach the full rate without penalty.
Those who mainly validate quarters on the basic regime
The national service is assimilated and allows you to validate quarters, without generating additional points. Parental educational leave validates quarters in the basic regime, but does not in principle open Agirc-Arrco points, which may reduce the final amount. Some periods of unemployment not compensated can, within strict limits, validate quarters without points. Result: help for the starting age, but a possible impact on the pension if the points are missing.
How are these periods included in the calculation of your rights?
In the basic regime, the assimilated periods are added to your insurance duration to aim for the full rate and avoid the discount. On the complementary side, only the compensated interruptions (sickness/AT‑MP, unemployment benefit) generate points, preserving the pension level. Keep all your certificates (CPAM, France Travail, pension fund) to assert these rights during liquidation. And check your career record in order to promptly correct any omission.
