Help for people who can no longer work full-time

In 2020, the French government formalised its efforts to support the autonomy needs of people with disabilities and the elderly by declaring this to be the fifth branch of the social security system. The others are retirement, work accidents and illnesses, family benefits, and Urssaf, which collects social charge payments.

This is managed by the Caisse nationale de solidarité pour l’autonomie (CNSA), which is now one of the official national social security funds. 

The CNSA’s job includes helping to manage and finance various financial aids for those with autonomy needs, helping the local MDPH network and seeking new solutions to help the group it is responsible for. 

Help for those who can no longer work, or can only work part-time, due to disability or health issues, is part of this.

Allocation supplémentaire d’invalidité (ASI)

The government recognises that people with disabilities experience greater challenges in finding work and some are not able to work at all. People with disabilities may qualify for a disability pension as well as a top-up allowance to compensate for a lack of employment or inability to work. 

The latter is the allocation supplémentaire d’invalidité. To claim this your ability to work/earn must be judged to be reduced by at least two-thirds compared to normal. You should also be below the age to claim the Aspa pension top-up (usually 65, but 60-62 for disabled people depending on when they were born).

If you are not an EU/EEA/Swiss citizen you usually need to have been living in France with a residency card allowing you to work for at least 10 years (Withdrawal Agreement card holders are exempt). 

Your other income, not including certain benefits, should not be more than €814/month for a single person or €1,425/month if you are married or placed. The maximum amount of the benefit is €899/month for a single person or €1,574/month for a couple if both members claim. In most cases this is claimed from your Cpam health caisse.

Disability pension

Someone is considered invalide (disabled) under social security rules if due to an accident or illness that was not related to work, their ability to work has been reduced by at least two-thirds. 

This is the case if, for example, due to the problem, your capacity to work is so reduced that you cannot earn a salary more than 33% of the usual amount for workers in your category and area of France.

Note that if your problem resulted from a workplace accident or illness and caused a permanent reduction in your capacities of at least 10%, you may claim a different, lifetime compensation income, called rente d’incapacité permanente.

To be eligible for a pension d’invalidité a person must have been registered with the French social security system for at least 12 months prior to becoming disabled and less able/unable to work. They must have also worked for at least 600 hours over the previous 12 months, or must have paid social security contributions on the basis of a salary at least equal to 2,030 times the hourly minimum salary over the preceding 12 months.

Disability pensions are awarded on a temporary basis and are subject to the beneficiary’s evolving medical situation. Disabled workers from the private sector who receive a disability pension stop receiving it when they reach the age that qualifies them for a state pension. From that moment on, the state pension replaces the disability pension.

Self-employed workers may be entitled to a pension d’invalidité in the event of total or partial disability, either due to a workplace injury or to illness. 

To qualify for the disability pension, the self-employed worker must meet a set of criteria: 

1. To have made regular contributions to Urssaf for at least one year and be up-to-date on payments 

2. Not have reached the legal retirement age and/or not be an early retiree 

3. Not receive a similar payment from another social security regime for the same problem 

4. Be examined and deemed unable to work due to disability

Amount of disability pension

The social security system recognises three categories of disability. The calculation for these uses as a basis your average annual salary for the 10 years in which you earned the most, provided this figure does not exceed a certain ceiling (currently €3,925/month). The following are the latest category details.

1. Category I – Disabled but capable of doing at least some level of salaried work: 30% of the average annual salary, with a minimum monthly amount of €335 and a maximum monthly amount of €1,176. 

2. Category II – Disabled, incapable of doing work of any kind: 50% of the average annual salary, with a minimum monthly threshold of €335 and a maximum monthly threshold of €1,963. 

3. Category III – Disabled, incapable of doing work of any kind and requiring the assistance of a helper for everyday activities: 50% of the average annual salary (plus a supplement called majoration pour tierce personne to cover costs for the helper), with a minimum monthly amount of €328 and a maximum amount of €3,199.

The Cpam makes annual checks to see if beneficiaries maintain their eligibility to disability pensions and they may be suspended notably if the person is now earning more than half of a typical worker of their category.

They may also be increased if the person’s situation worsens. In addition to this, beneficiaries who work are required to fill out a ‘declaration of situation and resources’ and submit this for checking every quarter. 

Disability pensions are usually subject to income tax but the supplement for the helper of Category 3 beneficiary is not taxable. They are not taxable if the person also benefits from ASI.

Home hospitalisation

In some cases, people who have lost their autonomy with regard to essential daily activities may be candidates for ‘hospitalisation at home’ (hospitalisation à domicile, HAD). This involves obtaining medical treatment at home to similar standards of care as in a hospital setting. 

Decisions on this are made by the medical team treating the patient and are subject to continuous medical re-evaluation. A key criterion doctors will use to evaluate this is the patient’s degree of autonomy loss. People whose incomes exceed a certain threshold will be required to self-finance a share of their expenses.

People looking to benefit may refer to their local Cpam or Centre communal d’action sociale. More information can also be obtained from the Fédération nationale des établissements d’hospitalisation à domicile.