Thanks Ian, that’s very helpful. I went to Valbonne on a permanent transfer and there was supposed to be an arrangement, which was never very clearly defined, to avoid employees who went abroad on this basis losing out on their pension. In my case this isn’t an issue as I do now qualify for the full UK state pension (as well as the DEC UK pension from my time there before going to France).
If I can sort out the ARRCO / AGIRC pensions the Carsat one will be an added bonus if I’m entitled to that too, which it seems like I should be. I’ll contact DWP and take it from there.
See also French pensions for UK ex-pats 2
Pete