UK state pensioners can now get France’s €100 inflation bonus
The payment will be made in a week’s time and will also be made to people with other foreign pensions that are taxable in France
People who live in France on foreign pensions may benefit from the €100 indemnité inflation bonus, the latest French rules clarify.
Those concerned, who should have pension income of less than €2,000 net a month (after social charges), will receive their inflation bonus money next Friday, February 4, the same day as payments made to travailleurs frontaliers (cross-border workers).
As with the cross-border workers, the money will be paid by the French tax service. The payment is individual, not per tax household. For example, in the same household there could be a person with a €2,500 pension who will not benefit and one with a €1,500 who will.
Updated information published by the government clarifies that those with foreign pension income can benefit from the bonus in addition to the cross-border workers with income from working abroad.
This refers, for example, to people who live in France but travel across the border to work in a neighbouring country and are paid by an employer there.
However, The Connexion was told by the prime minister’s press office in November that it was not planned that UK state pensioners would benefit, nor those who only have other foreign pension, investment and rental incomes etc. They would only benefit if they had French income sources as well, such as a French social benefit, we were told at the time.
The current updated rules state that those who only have foreign-source (and not French-source) salaries or pensions, will be paid the bonus by the Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFiP), the central government body responsible for taxation.
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If the tax office has your up-to-date bank details it will be paid by bank transfer, and will be identifiable on statements with the wording ‘INDEM.INFLATION’. If not, a check will be sent out in mid-February.
The rules also state under a Q&A section: “Q: Are people solely receiving foreign-source income eligible? A: People living in France who only receive foreign-source income taxable in France are eligible for the bonus”.
The Connexion has now heard from people whose main income source is a British state pension being told to expect to receive the money. This is logical, as under the UK-France double tax treaty, UK state pensions are taxable in France, as are private pensions.
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However, it would follow that those living on UK government service pensions, for example for ex-civil servants, firefighters, police officers or teachers, would not qualify as these are taxable in the UK not France, under the treaty. The same applies to income from property situated in the UK.
We have asked the prime minister’s office if it is possible to confirm this and to clarify if having a mixture of French-taxable and non-French-taxable foreign incomes would disqualify a person from being eligible.
We will update this article if clarification on these points is received.
Previous articles
€100 for people in France with less than €2,000 a month
Inflation bonus: €100 sent to more people this week
