Profile of retirees in France and their pensions (and comparison with UK and US)
There are 17 million pensioners living in France - number that is growing each year
The standard of living of retirees is slightly higher than that of the population as a whole
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The number of retirees in France is growing, according to newly released 2022 figures that show there were 17 million pensioners living here – an increase of 175,000 on 2021.
Pensions also went up: by the end of 2022, the average monthly pension in France was €1,512 net, ie. after social security contributions – a rise of 5.4% between 2021 and 2022.
However, the statistics, published by the Direction de la Recherche, des Etudes, de l’Evaluation et des Statistiques (Drees), show disparity between the sexes.
Women’s pensions were, on average, 38% lower than men’s in 2022 – although the gap was 50% in 2004.
Read more: Retirees need at least €15,000 a year to live comfortably in France, finds report
If you include survivors’ pensions, the majority of which go to widows, women’s pensions are 26% lower than men’s.
Women also retire, on average, eight months later than men.
At the end of 2022, the average retirement age for pensioners in France was 62 years and eight months – up two years and two months since 2010.
The average pension is slightly lower than the average salary, but when taking into account assets and household composition – fewer dependent children – the standard of living of retirees is “slightly higher” than that of the population as a whole, says Drees.
In 2021, the median standard of living of retirees in mainland France was €1,970 per month, 2% more than the population as a whole (€1,930).
A recent barometer by Silver Alliance and Retraite.com found retirees in France need at least €15,000 per year, excluding accommodation/bills, to live with dignity.
It noted the cost of goods and services used by this demographic had risen 20% over the past five years.
How do French pensions compare?
Like-for-like comparisons are difficult. France and the US have earnings-related pensions, while the UK is more unusual in having a flat-rate state pension.
Both the US and UK provide a low- er level of pension relative to average earnings.
The UK has an overall net replacement rate of 54.4% from mandatory pensions for an average earner, below the OECD aver- age of 61.4%.
In the US it is 50.5%.
French pensioners can expect to receive more than 70% of their previous income when they retire.
Meanwhile, the latest (2024) Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index, which ranks the pension systems of more than 40 countries based on criteria such as adequacy, sustainability and integrity, gave the UK a score of 71.6 and a ‘B’ grade, France 68.0 and a ‘B’, and the US 60.4 and a ‘C+’.
Note that France came second only to the Netherlands, however, in terms of ‘adequacy’ of the pension ie. the level of benefits received. OECD figures show the normal retirement age (eligibility age to pensions without penalty) in 2022 was 63.8 years in France, compared to 66 in both the UK and US.
Life expectancy in France in 2024 was 82.9 years, 81.3 in the UK and 78.9 in the US, according to the OECD Better Life Index
