When it comes time to retire, the rules seem set in stone. However, a parameter can still modify the amount paid each month, without increasing contributions.
The calculation of a retirement pension is based on several building blocks: insurance duration, reference income, legal age, full rate. Added to this are adjustment mechanisms which increase or reduce the final amount depending on the situation of the insured at the time of departure. These rules have been around for a long time, but they remain poorly understood. As a result, certain levers perfectly provided for by the texts go under the radar, even though they can increase the pension clearly and definitively.
Indeed, in this rather technical landscape, one point directly impacts the amount paid each month, without income conditions or specific ceiling. It concerns people who have reached the legal retirement age and who already have all the necessary quarters to benefit from a full-rate pension. At this point, many think that there is nothing left to optimize and that the amount is fixed. This is false, because a mechanism provides for an automatic increase in the pension.
Concretely, the rule is simple. Each additional calendar quarter validated after the legal age and after having reached the required insurance period increases the basic pension by 1.25%, according to the official website of the Public Service. Over a full year, this therefore represents 5% more, applied definitively to the amount paid. This increase does not depend on a new calculation, nor on a specific request to be made: it is integrated at the time of the liquidation of rights if the additional quarters are taken into account. Once the conditions for the full rate are met, each additional quarter worked counts and generates this increase, which is added to the pension for the entire duration of retirement. This is the principle of the premium.
This choice involves adapting the departure date according to your personal and professional situation. Some prefer to leave as soon as possible for reasons of health, fatigue or personal projects. Others may have a little wiggle room and consider a few more months or year in business. In this case, the difference in the long term can be significant, especially for modest pensions where a few extra points change the monthly budget.
Before deciding, it is useful to check your career record, to ensure that all quarters are correctly recorded and to simulate several departure dates. The final decision remains personal, but knowing this option allows you to make your choice in complete conscience.
