French Pensions vs UK Pensions

If a UK national moves to France whilst working and then later retires, he or she will then be entitled to a French state pension rather than from a UK one. However, this is dependent on the claimant having paid all outstanding National Insurance contributions before leaving the UK. The level of the French state pension provides a slightly better standard of living than its UK equivalent. However, the amount payable is still not large, and also varies according to the pensioner's age of retirement and the salary received in his or her last job. The main advantage of a French state pension is that it should, theoretically, always match the cost of living in France, whereas a UK pension payable in France could potentially fail to do this.

Complementaire Plans (Top-up Schemes). Most employees in France pay into private insurance schemes which will top up their securite sociale benefits. Such schemes will not only comprise a great part of the patient's contribution to medical treatment but they will also increase the state pension payable. In many cases, the state pension added to the amount payable under a 'top-up' insurance scheme will give the retired person a pension of 100% of their past salary. However, note that such schemes must generally be started prior to retirement age (details obtainable from current employer). The few schemes available to those who have already retired, and which usually provide further medical benefits only, are likely to be very expensive.