Help for those who wish to stay in their own home

A good source of help for people who have extra needs in older age but wish to stay their own homes is a service d’aide et accompagnement à domicile (home help and support service).

These can provide carers (auxiliaires de vie) to help with getting up and getting dressed, shopping or preparing meals or doing administrative tasks etc and there are state benefits that can help towards the cost, notably APA for those with dependency needs (see below).

These services need to be accredited by the departmental council, which checks on the quality of their services, and their fees are subject to certain official limits.

They may be run by: the CCAS at the mairie (centre communal d’action sociale), or associations or private businesses.

If in doubt an information point for elderly people can help. There are several per department. On the website linked to above, click Accès aux annuaires at the top of the page, then Je recherche par annuaire, then in the box by point 1 click Point d'information local dédié aux personnes âgées.  Enter your postcode and how many kilometres you are willing to travel.

The site can also identify services for nurse visits or home help (Service autonomie à domicile) as well as retirement homes or day care. The CCAS, or the services themselves, should advise if they have English-speaking staff. 

It is also possible to employ someone directly in your home, using the chèque emploi service universel (Cesu) system, which allows for an income tax credit.

APA à domicile

The APA benefit for autonomy help comes in two kinds and APA à domicile is a benefit to help pay for services needed by people who are not autonomous without help but live in their own home. It is granted by departmental councils.

Everyone meeting the criteria of age and dependency in theory qualifies for some money but it reduces depending on your means. The amount also depends on how reliant you are and your specific individual needs.

It is payable to over-60s living independently to cover some, if not all, of the costs associated with helping them to carry out their daily tasks and can cover, for example, home help, day or temporary respite care, special equipment or accommodation adaptations, and transport. 

It can go towards paying all or some of the cost of an accredited Association d'aide à domicile (who may also be able to help you apply for it).

Forms can be found at your mairie’s Centre communal d'action sociale (CCAS), from the elderly people’s service at your departmental council, or from local information points.

Residents in Paris have the option of using a website to apply.

What are the conditions to qualify?

To be entitled you must be in need of help with daily tasks due to physical and/or mental deterioration (GIR 1-4 dependency - see below), aged 60 or over and have your primary (or only) residence in France and have a valid residency permit (if you are not an EU citizen) or European passport and you must live in a 'stable and legal' manner in France (ie. it is not for visitors and holiday home owners).

It is for people living in their own home, in a relative's home, with an accueillant familial (a form of 'foster family' for an elderly person - see below) or in a résidence autonomie (sheltered accommodation).

The application should be sent to the address on the form, including a photocopy of your passport or, for Britons who have obtained Brexit deal residency cards (or other cards in later years) this residency permit, photocopies of your last avis d’imposition (income tax statement), last taxe foncière bill (for homeowners), annual statement of an assurance vie policy (if you have one) and bank account details (‘RIB’).

Some departments require a medical certificate and a document showing your address.

Note that the application also allows for a simplified application for a disabled person's card at the same time, if you do not have one yet (carte mobilité inclusion).

Home visit will be followed by help plan

A home visit will be arranged to clarify your needs, including checking whether you can benefit from adaptations to your home or special equipment. If you are eligible, a ‘help plan’ is drawn up showing help proposed, such as number of hours of help with housework, the number of home delivery meals etc.

It will show how much of this will be covered by APA and how much you need to fund. You will have 10 days in which to accept it or ask for changes. The departmental council may then take up to two months to give final validation to your APA.

There is no payment required by those earning less than €918.28/month.

If you live with a spouse/civil (or other long-term) partner, your total means are considered, and divided by 1.7. Certain kinds of income are exempt from consideration and the value of your main home if you own it is not taken into account.

When will you be paid and how much?

APA is payable within a month from the date of notification of acceptance of the application, on a monthly basis. At its top rate (for the most dependent people who also have modest means) it is €2,045.56 a month (in comparison, those with needs rated GIR 4 get a maximum of €979.96.

If your income exceeds €918.28 a month the amount is reduced progressively according to your income. If APA is evaluated at €35.64 or less a month it is not paid.

Note that while any money for paying for regular help is paid monthly, any money allocated to pay for technical adaptations or for paying for respite care may be paid out on a one-off basis as required. 

Money aimed at paying for care in the home may be given as a pre-paid Cesu cheque if appropriate. If preferred it is also possible to arrange for money to be paid directly to various service providers who help you in the home.

People living at home have to declare what the money is being used for and you should tell the council of important changes to your situation. An initial declaration, on form cerfa 10544*02 must be made within a month of acceptance, showing what you are paying for.

If you are using an association or firm you only fill out your details plus those of the firm at the appropriate position and sign at the bottom. You must complete three copies for the council and keep one for yourself.

Unlike some other benefits in France, APA does not have to be repaid from your estate after your death.

Social charge exemption

Older people paying for a service to help in the home will often be eligible not to pay the employer's part of the social charges for this work. This applies to APA beneficiaries, people aged over 70 and other old-age pensioners under certain conditions.

Other help and aide sociale

If you cannot obtain help via APA because your dependency needs are not seen as serious enough, your French retirement caisse (if you worked in France) may be able to help with some aide ménagère funding for matters like home help, meals on wheels etc.

Those on low incomes who live in France may also be able to obtain aide sociale help from the departmental council – your mairie can advise. They will assess whether they consider you genuinely need help with essential needs, despite having tried other sources. The council may ask for this to be repaid from your estate after you die (if it is in funds, after payment of debts).

Allocation de solidarité pour personnes âgées (Aspa)

This is a pension top-up benefit, which ensures a minimum income (up to €12,411.44 per year for a single person or €19,268.80 for a couple). It is available to French and EU/EEA citizens (or UK citizens living in France before the end of the Brexit transition period) who are permanent residents of France, or to non-EU citizens who have lived in France for 10 years with a residency permit allowing them to work (however, see here about Britons). 

It is repayable from your estate after death if its net value is more than €105,300 but if you have a surviving spouse or other dependent then repayment can be delayed until they die.

Disability pension - MTP

People who benefit from a French disability pension and who need help at home from a carer can apply for the majoration pour tierce personne (MTP). This is an extra amount on top of the pension, which is increased annually. Note that you cannot claim this and APA simultaneously. 

There is also a similar benefit called Prestation complémentaire pour recours à tierce personne (PCRTP), which is for people on long-term disability benefits due to a work accident or work-related illness.

For elderly people who live with family

People who have a needy elderly parent living with them can benefit from a tax deduction of €4,039 for frais d'accueil d'une personne âgée.

Alternatively the parent can be ‘attached’ to the tax household (foyer fiscal) if they have a disability card at 80% disability or more, giving you reduced tax due to an additional ‘family quotient part'.

Grants and tax credits

A grant called MaPrimeAdapt' may help pay 50-70% of the cost of towards home adaptations, such as installing a stair lift or electric shutters, or a walk-in shower, if you own your home. A project assistant can come to your home and assess your needs.

Look out for workers with labels such as Silverbat, Handibat or Proadapt. Find out more here. 

An income tax credit (for dépenses d'équipement pour personnes âgées) is also available for installing equipment for the elderly and/or disabled (equipment and labour, including VAT), of 25% off up to a ceiling of €5,000 for a single person or double for a couple. 

At least one person in the home must be over 60 and with recognised autonomy problems, or be deemed to suffer from 50% or more incapacity. It is also be means-tested and only people on ‘intermediate’ incomes are eligible.

'Meals on wheels'

Older people needing help to stay in their homes may be interested in 'meals on wheels', called un service de portage (or livraison) de repas à domicile.

They may be run by state institutions, associations or private firms and are aimed at people who find it difficult to prepare their own meals or get to the shops.

These come under the general heading of aide à la personne (home help), which also includes, for example, nannies or cleaners. If you use a service that is state-accredited for this then there is a 50% tax reduction available against the cost (minus the actual cost of the food products used).

Such organisations may use the official S! Services à la Personne logo – if in doubt ask them: avez-vous un agrément 'services à la personne'?

State-run portage de repas services are usually for over-65s, with exceptions for people suffering from disability.

Services by private firms may be for all ages including younger people who do not like to cook.

It may be possible to have state funding towards all or part of the cost. Your mairie or a local information point for the elderly can advise about applying in your area and for state aid.