C. Registering for the French Retirement Schemes (ARRCO and AGIRC)

Send a scanned copy of the green Carte Vitale form to Paul BIARD (paul.biard@cea.fr) + Iris LOCHARD (iris.lochard@cea.fr) for sorting out pension administration There are two levels of pension scheme in France: the French state pension scheme, and the complementary top-up schemes (that’s either ARRCO or AGIRC), which CEA will register you for, and for which you need to send the Carte Vitale form copy, as above. Both schemes are compulsory (i.e. the public and the private), and should be automatic - check they appear on your payslip. What seems clear is that to achieve the maximum payout on retirement one has to work for 160 ‘quarters’ (... so 40 years) but there is pro-rata payment for those who have been working in France on a short-term contract - explanation of how pension is divided up between different EU countries: http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/work/retire-abroad/state-pensions-abroad/index_en.htm

French pension scheme: (advice for UK nationals, possibly general?): http://www.ambafrance-uk.org/Social-Security Once working in France, you will pay contributions for a French state pension. From the age of 60, you will have to contact the Caisse Nationale d’Assurance Vieillesse (CNAV) in order to receive a pro-rata pension according to the time you have been insured in France. For details on how your contributions to the French pension scheme will affect your British state pension, please contact the DSS Overseas Branch (sic: think they mean the DWP).

There’s also this rather in-depth comparison between the French and UK public pension schemes written from a scientist’s perspective. It seems almost too boring, but probably worth reading: http://www.ill.eu/careers/working-at-the-ill/pensions-in-the-uk-in-france/

Documents you should keep until you’re 65, or whatever the retirement age will be by then, just in case the French payments don’t start up automatically, as they should do: Your certificates of employment and your payslips, Your last statement (décomptes de points) showing the number of points you have earned with your supplementary pension scheme(s) If you are asked to provide any of the above documents, you must only ever supply copies, keeping the originals in a safe place.

When you have your Carte Vitale, social security number, and have sent evidence to the appropriate person at LSCE, it is actually quite possible to check that the French have properly been keeping track of the your pension situation, and, furthermore without having to phone anyone up, visit any office or send any letters.

I just went here: https://services.agirc-arrco.fr

I created a 'personal account', using the social security number from my Carte Vitale. Then you log on to this account, click on 'acceder aux donnees de ma carriere', then 'releve de situation indivuelle', and it is possible to straightaway download a formal letter as a pdf document which has a summary of how many retirement points you have accumulated, and the corresponding dates.