I may have mis-read, I thought I saw somewhere, that a UK pension is no longer a valid funds source if you wanted to move to France. Is that the case, or have I just misread/imagined it?
TIA
Are you thinking of the requirement if you want to become a French citizen? AFAIK itās OK for a Carte de SĆ©jour but other people here know more than I do.
My understanding is that itās fine to rely on a UK pension, as long as your total income is equal to or greater than the French minimum wage (SMIC) - so the UK State Pension alone is not sufficient but topped up to SMIC level or above by a private pension will work.
As @Jennifer11 noted, itās only if you want to apply for citizenship that they now expect the majority of your income to be sourced within France (the so-called Retailleau decree).
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Because I am a nerd, it is a circular not a decree. So just policy instruction not law.
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ah, okā¦ thanks all. I had misread 
āIn Xanadu did Kubla Khanā¦ā 
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Yes, that is my understanding as well. SMIC is now just over 1410ā¬ and full UK new state pension is Ā£241.30 a week - or Ā£1045 a month. At Ā£1 = 1.16ā¬ thatās about 1213ā¬ so if your only income is UK state pension you are about 200ā¬ a month short.
AIUI there used to be some latitude - eg if you owned property and had no rent to pay, not sure if that is still the case.
The UK pension comes in for some stick but from a quick Google - if you have spent your life at minimum income levels (not sure how many do that), even with all the necessary contributions the French state pension only comes to 848ā¬ a month (though for average wage earners itās much better).
Then you would be considered someone with low income - the threshold is ā¬1600 approx a month - and would be eligible for top up payments, free mutuelle, and a range of other benefits from delivered meals, help with housework, and bits of money for other things.
For people applying for a visa there is still some latitude, but in the agentās gift so nothing is written down. (And you wouldnāt be eligible for benefits immediately)
Yes - it was just the fact that the pension could āwind up even lower than the UK one which struck me.
Of course ācircular(ise/ateā) wouldnāt have rhymed quite so well - eg:-
In Xanadu did Kubla Khan
A stately pleasure-dome circularise
Where Alph, the sacred river, ran
Fed by the water from the skies
In that instance at least ādecreeā definitely wins hands down
Which was my point
Despots such as Kubla Khan did not bother with mere circulars. Although les fonctionnaires seem to have taken M. Retailleauās ācircularā as having the force of a decree, sadly for those seeking citizenship.
Post-Brexit Brit OAPs resident in France are ācollateral damageā from Retailleauās circular. More recently thereās some hope that our status might be re-evaluated, but Iām not optimistic, if only because we canāt vote in France!
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They do not have a choice. Their role is to implement the policy of the day. Or should be.
As my French pension is only in the region of 420 euros per month does that mean that I am entitled to a top up?
Be careful as you may well have to go via the ASPA system via the CAF for low pension holders who wish to ask for more. This is where they top your current pension (total of all them) so that you have at least ā¬1000/month to live on. If you have a UK state pension on top of a French pension, they wonāt usually entertain a demand unless it is less where I have already explained. Basically if you own your own home, you can get a monthly increase in pension but when you die, the CAF will take the value of your property apart from the basic ā¬39,000 of the value which goes to any heirs or creditors etc and the rest, even on an expensive property will be taken for the ASPA you received. There was no way I was getting into that but luckily eventually had enough through three French and one UK pension to survive on nicely now and my kids wonāt lose out! Renters can also apply for ASPA and eventual payback will be front whatever is in the bank or assets etc or even via your children, nothing is given freely.
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Thank you Shibaā¦..it is as I thoughtā¦.I shall continue to survive on my modest pensions supplemented by some work.
If you are under 65 you can apply for the RSA which I received for twelve years until I got my pensions through, it is means tested and applied for yearly but it certainly kept me afloat when OH died suddenly and no money was coming in. You do have declare a lot of personal stuff and they do checks every so often.
Thanks once again Shiba but being over 65 precludes me from that possibility.
Yes, I had to stop at 66 when the UK pension kicked in but you can go up a few years if you have been in receipt of it for some time and have not much else, all means tested. Hence why they brought in the ASPA system of take back when you die even if its within a year or two and well short of the value of any property, heirs only get ā¬ 39,000 from your estate end of the day so not something to go into lightly unless you have no heirs or they are sufficiently wealthy as not to care and want you to enjoy a better income regardless of the end result.