Many social benefits and family allowances are paid to parents, but a number of them never apply for them. Are they retroactive?
Created in 1945, family allowances are paid in France to parents who have at least two dependent children under the age of 20. Their amount varies and depends on resources, the number of dependent children and their age. In 2020, nearly 5 million households received family allowances in France. But not all potential beneficiaries request them and many social benefits are sometimes unknown to young parents!
According to the site aide-sociale.fr, the percentage of non-recourse to social assistance in France is estimated at between 30 and 40%, which represents significant undistributed sums! Several reasons can explain this non-request for social assistance. According to Drees opinion barometer (Directorate of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics) published in April 2023, nearly four out of ten French people considered in 2021 that the main reason for not taking up social assistance was linked to the lack of information on AIDS. The second reason, given by almost one in four people, was the complexity of the procedures. Other French people also justified their choice not to request social benefits by the desire to get by on their own and not be considered as welfare recipients.
However, nothing is lost if you have never requested to receive family allowances, but you are entitled to do so. As the official website of the French administration, Service-Public.fr, specifies, it is in fact possible to obtain a retroactive payment if “all conditions are met” and “whatever the amount”. But you have to respect a certain deadline.
In fact, beneficiaries have a period of two years from the day on which the conditions for entitlement were met to make their first request. Please note that family allowances are due from the 1st day of the calendar month following that during which the conditions for entitlement are met. So, if you meet the conditions to receive family benefits since May 12 and you take all the necessary steps, notably declaring the birth of your children, these family benefits are due to you from June 1!