Expenses related to housing and food divided in two, distribution of the tax burden… The financial advantages of couples are multiple. But what about when you retire? Does your family situation affect the amount of your pension? As for your own pension, which is calculated on a strictly personal basis, this is not the case. Your marital status does not affect the number of terms you have validated, nor the amount of your pension. On the other hand, other rights can be undermined.

Cohabitation, Pacs, marriage… Living as a couple can upset the ceilings of resources to which you are subject to enjoy certain benefits. This is for example the case for the minimum old age, or for the affiliation to the old-age insurance of parents at home. The conditions of resources and number of children are different for single people and couples.

As for the gross amount of your retirement pension, it is reduced by various compulsory deductions (income tax, CSG, etc.). However, the deduction rate applied to your pension does not only take into account your resources, but those of the household. And as the specialized site Retrait en clair points out, “the thresholds are higher if you live as a couple than alone”. Thus, in 2022, if you receive less than €11,431 per year on your own, you are exempt from CSG. As a couple, the exemption is only possible if you receive less than €17,535 annually.

Here, the rules are the same as soon as you live as a couple. Contrary to the granting of a survivor’s pension, there is in fact no distinction between free union, PACS and marriage. When it comes to calculating household resources, being in a couple is enough to change the rules and the amounts, to your advantage or not.

On the other hand, to benefit from the survivor’s pension on the death of your spouse (evaluated between 50 and 60% of the retirement pension that he received or would have received), it is imperative to have been married. As we detailed in a previous article, some regimes also impose a minimum duration of marriage, when there is no child in common.

Can you lose this benefit in the event of divorce or remarriage?

In the event of a divorce, both spouses retain the right to their share of reversion. On the other hand, in certain plans, it can be withdrawn in the event of remarriage. If the deceased was married several times, the survivor’s pension is then shared between the surviving spouses and former spouses. The calculation is made in proportion to the number of years of marriage.

The minimum age to benefit from it is often 55, except in the public service.