Many retirees are expected to see the amount of their pension vary, downwards or upwards.
Clearly, it is difficult for retirees to see clearly about their pension. While it is already not easy to complete the application to benefit from it, it is not any easier to follow the fluctuations in remuneration over the months. Basic pension, supplementary pension, bonus, discount, taxes… So many elements which change very regularly and which do not facilitate the establishment of a fixed budget for former workers.
After the increase in the Agirc-Arrco pension in November, that in the basic pension in January and an adjustment to the withholding tax rate in February, this is a new parameter that will change. The next pension payment will therefore vary from the previous one for thousands of retirees.
This concerns those affiliated to the supplementary pension organization Agirc-Arrco (more than 13 million people in total). The payment which will arrive on Friday 1er March 2024 may be downward or upward for some. So don’t be surprised by the change. Furthermore, for many retirees, nothing should change.
The reason for these possible variations lies in the annual adjustment of an income tax: the Generalized Social Contribution (CSG). This tax is levied directly on the gross amount of your pension and is more or less important depending on all of your income declared to the tax authorities (pensions and other income therefore).
At the start of the year, the tax authorities sent Agirc-Arrco the rates to apply to each retiree based on the latest income tax return. This new rate comes into effect on the March payment.
If the income received in 2022 (2023 declaration) was lower than that of 2021, your retirement pension could increase: the CSG rate applied to your gross remuneration could be lower and, therefore, the net pension received higher. To which it will be necessary to add a reimbursement on the overpayment in January and February to the tax authorities. Conversely, if your income between 2021 and 2022 has increased, you could pay more CSG, as well as a catch-up over the first two months of the year, so your pension will decrease.
This only remains conditional because there are only four CSG rates, which each correspond to a bracket of income. Thus, if your income has varied upwards or downwards but remains in the same bracket, your rate will remain the same and the amount of your supplementary pension will not change.