Preparing for retirement is a long-term project that must be anticipated as much as possible, especially since the numerous decisions made during your working life will have consequences whose magnitude must be measured. “You need to know the rules of the game as early as possible, even before entering working life, to avoid missing out on opportunities,” believes Valérie Batigne, president of Sapiendo. For example, opting for an internship or a alternation does not have the same effects.”
Time is the most precious ally of the saver wishing to build up retirement capital. Thus, to have 100,000 euros at 65, you must set aside 100 euros per month if you start at 30, 200 euros at 40 and 400 euros at 50. Not only will you accumulate more by saving small amounts each month upon entering working life, but you will also benefit from the effects of cumulative interest: each euro invested grows and the interest generated over the course of a year will in turn create additional interest. next year, and so on. “The less purchasing power you have, the earlier you have to start because small streams make big rivers,” underlines Georges Valente Monteiro, deputy general director of Groupama Gan Vie.
Strong financial constraints
So much for the theory. In practice, you have to deal with financial constraints and a multiplicity of life projects to finance. Traditionally, it is around the age of 50-55 that savers become concerned about the subject. However, practices are evolving. According to the latest wave of the Odoxa barometer for Groupama, the latest pension reform has encouraged a third of French people to change their savings behavior in this area. In addition, the share of its customers under 35 years old when opening a contract of this type increases year after year. They now represent 23% of new subscribers. “The priority for young professionals is to settle down and finance the purchase of their main residence, but the ideal is to be able to invest, at the same time, 100 to 200 euros per month,” indicates Valérie Bentz, head of heritage studies at the Financial Union of France Furthermore, acquiring your home also means preparing for your retirement because when the time comes it will allow you to avoid the cost of renting or to have capital available in the event of resale. “
Throughout working life, it is therefore useful to carry out regular progress updates. To do this, simply download and study your Individual Situation Statement (RIS), accessible on the information portal info-retraite.fr. This document provides detailed information on the rights you have acquired under the various mandatory regimes. “Thanks to tools like ‘My career’, visualization is simplified because it highlights possible career gaps or anomalies,” explains Mehdi Tahir, retirement advice agency manager at Agirc-Arrco. Doing this work once a year will make the task lighter later. “In the event of an error, you must have supporting documents to request corrections. However, the more time passes, the more the probability of losing them increases,” underlines Valérie Batigne.
Likewise, you should not hesitate to find out about the impact of certain decisions such as expatriation, working part-time or taking parental leave. For this, numerous simulators are made available. Even if the criteria may change subsequently, the results will allow you to better understand the situation. To go further, appointments at an Agirc-Arrco agency are possible at any time and many service providers offer assessments to advise you. With full knowledge of the facts, you will then be able to take the necessary measures to preserve your future pensions and avoid unpleasant surprises as the fateful date approaches.” The key message is to anticipate so that five years from retirement, you know what to expect and thus avoid a wave of stress”, underlines Mehdi Tahir.
At the same time, you must set goals and gradually build up assets to achieve them. “Once we know roughly what will happen to us, we can act and put in place planning that will bear fruit and that we can adapt over the years,” says Georges Valente Monteiro. So, if you anticipate a replacement rate of 50% and you put in place actions to reach 80%, the path will be less difficult if a new reform reduces your replacement rate to 40%.”
It is possible to open a PER individually
The retirement savings plan (PER) was created specifically for this. Some employees have access to it within their company. Otherwise, it is possible to open one individually. The advantage of the collective plan? It is sometimes accompanied by advantages such as matching contributions. In this case, your voluntary payments are encouraged by the company which makes an additional payment, in proportions and limits set by each company. For workers who do not have access to this system, subscribing to an individual plan is simple and can be done at your bank, with your insurer or mutual insurance company, online, etc.
“The PER meets a specific need consisting of long-term investment while reducing taxes, comments Georges Valente Monteiro. Indeed, the payments made in this envelope are deductible from taxable income. However, it is not the most interesting product for those who are lightly taxed, it will be in their best interest to turn to life insurance, which is more flexible.”
Real estate represents another option. “I borrow to invest in a rental property whose rent contributes to the repayment of the loan,” explains Valérie Bentz. “It can be a relevant solution for a young couple who does not want to buy their main residence and is not still in debt.” We should also not rule out the stock savings plan (PEA), which allows you to benefit from a completely tax-free life annuity, nor the company savings plan (PEE), which is both flexible and tax-advantaged. “The more resources you have, the more you have to stock up everywhere,” summarizes Valérie Bentz. Clearly, the main thing is to act.
At fifty, things start to become clearer. In terms of wealth, income is generally at its peak and savings capacity is at its maximum. Now is the time to take advantage of the PER tax advantage and invest in unlisted companies (the private equity). Some households also find at this age a debt capacity, which allows them to consider real estate strategies that generate a land deficit, which makes it possible to limit the tax pressure. Furthermore, “we offer information interviews in order to clarify the departure date and the existing options to arrange the end of one’s career, such as progressive retirement, combined employment and retirement or even the buyback of quarters”, indicates Mehdi Tahir. The simulations are generally reliable, even if there are still many years to cover before the legal age. “From the age of 50, it is important to have a vision of the future but there are still hazards, and in particular the risk of finding yourself unemployed. We must therefore continue to follow the evolution of this trajectory,” warns Valérie Bentz .
This is why it will be necessary to redo a more precise overview a few years before the desired date, in order to go a step further and start putting together your file. The latter must be deposited six months before the deadline to avoid a shortage of resources. “There is a single online request service, which allows you to submit a single file for all plans,” explains Mehdi Tahir. Our advisors are also available by telephone or in an agency to provide personalized advice and support in the procedures.”
Do you think you have reached the end of your troubles? Not quite. “Retirement is prepared during your professional career, but also afterwards, warns Georges Valente Monteiro. At 60-65 years old, you will need to anticipate issues such as dependency so as not to become a burden for your children and grandchildren. “And therefore keep a pear for thirst in case of unexpected financial needs.
Career: errors to check urgently!
Please note, the statements sometimes contain inaccuracies and omissions. But if you don’t go looking for the information, it will come to you. From the age of 35 and every five years, you receive your individual situation statement. This document gives you an overview of your retirement rights. Take the time to check it carefully!
The first page summarizes the rights you have acquired, which are then detailed plan by plan. For private sector employees, the employer(s), the income subject to contribution and the number of quarters earned are shown year after year. Added to this information is the number of Agirc-Arrco points for the supplement. “Career data is for the most part well recorded, but there can be problems with homonyms or registration number,” acknowledges Mehdi Tahir. If an employee has multiple employers, we recommend that he regularly consult his career record to find out more. ensure that their rights are properly taken into account.”
First check that no years are missing. To do this, take out your old pay slips and check that no employer is missing. Don’t miss anything because a student job, even part-time, can provide valuable quarters. Also study the inconsistencies between plans: the basic plan will have been forgotten while points are allocated for the complementary plan and vice versa. This should alert you and encourage you to investigate further. Be particularly wary of periods of unemployment or military service. The latter allows you to validate a quarter every ninety days spent under the flag. As for the phases of inactivity compensated by France Travail, they grant one quarter every fifty days. You also continue to contribute to the supplementary pension. If you have worked abroad or if you have created your business: be extra vigilant. Note that the quarters granted for maternity and child-rearing do not appear in these statements. You can nevertheless enter this information on your profile.
What to do in case of error? Before age 55, you must contact the funds concerned directly, by email or by registered mail. From the age of 55, you can do it online, directly from your personal space. Don’t wait!
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