Current employer asking would I consider relocating to France

Yep, PWC and subsequently KPMG looked after my assignments in coordination with the Company assignment managers, who handled logistics, bank accounts, housing, cars, etc. The tax issues can be very tricky and not obvious.

I worked for just 1 year here in France and on termination claimed the dole. Since I was 64 at the time (over current French retirement age) I had to explicitly reject my right to a pension. There are so many ways to work in France so my experience may not be universal but I think you can claim a pension, albeit by no means a full pension, after a very short time in work. Like French unemployment benefit I believe the pension is also proportionate to the amount paid to the state in your name.

How did you go about doing that? My partner has potentially a minuscule French pension (a few centimes a month…) which he does not want for all sorts of complicated reasons!

The pension people here will only pay out the miniscule pensions once per year, not monthly if its well under the limit, so its worth claiming.

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Looks like it would work out at about 8 euros a year so wouldn’t make much difference to us :rofl:

I cannot remember the details but when I lost my job I think I received a claim form from the pensions people and had to write something along the lines of “rejet pour le pole emploii” on it before signing and posting. My guess is if your husband does nothing he will not receive a pension as later I was called and asked if I wished to commence it to which I just said no.

That makes sense @ahickling - thank you!

While working in France it pays to continue paying NI in UK

Voluntary payments will keep the OP covered whether one day returning to UK or retiring abroad. This means they will receive the full UK pension from DWP in France or UK upon retirement.

With NI payments maintained there will also be no difficulty in having as S1 issued to present for French public healthcare upon UK retirement, which may or may not become necessary under a far-right parliament in France.

All the above should also be done by a spouse.

There is a very short window to do that and thereby retain an S1 - literally weeks. Sadly can’t remember details but they might come back to me.

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PS I have subsequently heard that if you take a French pension and have an S1 you may need to pay social charges on your UK pension, whereas no French pension no social charges. This doesn’t seem logical but I would check before taking the French pension.

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I would imagine that if you have a French pension and therefore worked in France then you are fully “in the system” so France is “paying your keep” as it were, so social charges apply - whereas for a British retiree who has never worked in France then the UK is footing the bill (mostly) for your healthcare in retirement.

That’s my understanding of it anyway - I defer to the experts on SF if I have got it wrong!

But my understanding is once you have an S1, regardless of whether you’re French pensioner or not, the UK are paying the state part of your health bills.

I believe if you are receiving a French pension then you are no longer entitled to a UK S1:

under European law, if you are in receipt of a French retirement pension you become the responsibility of the French State for the purposes of health and social security rights, despite the fact that you may also be in receipt of a pension from your country of origin.

This an oldish article so things may have changed, of course.

Your belief is correct. If one has a French pension then France is the competent state so a UK S1 is not possible.

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Does that apply if you move back to the UK and work there before retiring? Not that I’m planning to go back. Just curious really.

Did it pre-Brexit, best move I ever made and everything was sorted by HR…… go for it!

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Ah ha, thanks that would explain it and so go very carefully before claiming a trivial French pension.

If you are entitled to a French pension, no matter how small, and it is the last country you worked in then there is only a very small opportunity to give up a UK S1 - which many miss and then that’s it. No UK S1.

If you return to work in the UK and retire there and claim pension from there the pn you can get a UK S1 - with the French pension paid on top. And can then subsequently move to France with the UK S1.

Yes, I have a small French pension and a UK one but my competent state is Ireland, the last place I worked in and the one with the most “stamps”. So, I have an Irish S1.

That might be me. Where’s good to research the small opportunity?