Financial aid to help meet costs of a home

Allocation personnalisée d'autonomie (APA)

Just as APA can help people with dependency needs who want to stay in their own homes, this benefit, granted by departmental councils, may also help retirement home residents.

If so it covers the dependency part of their fees and is called APA en établissement (people living in résidences autonomie apply for APA à domicile).

If you are already living in a home and wish to apply for APA, the staff can help with this. In this case the APA will go directly towards reducing your dependency costs and is paid to the home. 

If your income is under €2,799.19 a month you will pay a minimal amount, corresponding to the home's charge for people who have minimal dependency needs (GIR 5 or 6).

For higher incomes the amount you pay increases. If you own a main home it is not included in the calculation and you are not asked to sell it.

Aide sociale à l’hébergement

ASH may be granted by the departmental council and helps pay the accommodation costs in many homes that are state-run or run by non-profit-making associations (check with the home you are considering). It is means-tested and for those who:

• Are 65 years old or over, or over 60 but unfit for work

• Are in a home and need financial help to pay for their accommodation

• Have insufficient income to pay the accommodation fees

If you get housing benefit from the Caf, then this is taken into account in assessing your means. You should be willing to use 90% of your own income from all sources towards the accommodation fees, though you must be left at least €124/month. You apply via your mairie for this.

Money paid can be recuperated from your estate after death, or before if you come into extra funds, however you are not expected to sell your home in your lifetime to be eligible for it or to reimburse it.

Where a home resident has difficulty paying their fees, the director of the home, or the person themselves, may apply for aide sociale. At this point the council seeks information about the resident’s finances and family situation.

Descendants under French law have a duty of care to their parents and are obliged to give financial help to their parents to a reasonable degree, depending on their means – called obligation alimentaire – if the elderly person is considered to be in need with regard to their basic living requirements.

This may be taken into account in considering an elderly person’s ability to pay home fees and the departmental council may request that the children pay all or some of the remaining part. They cannot oblige this but, if necessary, there will be a judgement by the juge aux affaires familiales as to who should pay and how much.

However should children live outside of France and not be willing to help it would be impractical for the authorities to attempt to have this rule enforced.

Spouses also have obligations to support each other within their means. Children are not called on to help if the spouse has sufficient means to pay the fees in full.

The amount of ASH represents the difference between the fees and the other available money, including from family.

Aide personnalisée au logement

Residents who live in accredited sheltered accommodation may be entitled to APL from the caisse d’allocations familiales (Caf) to reduce their rent payments (it can also help reduce mortgage payments).

In some cases it is also relevant to people who live in retirement homes and may be combined with ASH.

To find out more and to apply, you should contact your local caisse d'allocations familiales. There is a similar benefit called allocation de logement sociale, which may apply where a home does not have an agreement with the council to fix the level of fees.

Income tax implications

An income tax reduction for frais liés à la dépendance is available for people living in an Ehpad, based on the costs related to dependency care and accommodation, board and lodging, once the benefits of APA and ASH have been deducted.

The reduction equals 25% of expenses incurred, within a fixed upper limit of €10,000, which equates to a maximum reduction of €2,500 per person per year. For a married/pacsed couple it is granted twice, so the upper limit is €5,000 per couple.

Those staying in their own homes may benefit from a 50% discount for employing accredited personal services firms (or employing people directly via the Cesu scheme), within financial ceilings which are higher for over-65s than younger people and are increased for the severely disabled. 

The basic ceiling is €12,000, increased by €1,500 per person in the household over 65. If you are disabled and must have help with daily life this is increased to €20,000. As it is a tax credit, you can obtain payment from the tax office if you do not pay enough tax to fully benefit via reductions of the tax bill.

Local taxes: taxe foncière and taxe d’habitation

By moving permanently into a retirement home, depending on your level of income, you are totally or partially exempt from these where they are due on your former main residence. This is on condition you retain full rights to the property and do not let it out to third parties.

The resident is exempt from paying the taxe d’habitation, if still applied, for their stay within the home if its regulations include communal mealtimes, limited visitor access and access to bedrooms by the home’s staff, that is to say where the resident is not totally responsible and where the institution manages the living space.

Dependency insurance

Some people take out private insurance to cover expenses that arise from ageing, such as home help or care homes. Called assurance dépendance, this comes in addition to state help such as APA. 

It typically offers capital payouts or monthly allowances if you become dependent. Cover and premiums vary according to policy and level of dependency.

Foreign citizens' rights

An expert from the mairie of Nice said that there are no specific rules for foreign people (EU or non-EU citizens) who want a place in a French home and will pay for themselves (depending on places and the person having right of residence here).

Those wanting aide sociale should show habitual residence in the department for at least three months and non-EU applicants need a carte de séjour, he said.

EU citizens are not obliged to have a carte but they must be residents in France and the expert said some departments apply EU ('stable and legal') residency rules strictly. 

This means a place with aide sociale is available only for those who show they have healthcare and means above a certain level – thus excluding those on very low means – or who have obtained permanent residency cards or have a spouse or civil partner with a right of residency.