Retirees in France can demand a recalculation of their pensions if they discover errors in their records, retirement expert Valerie Batigne said on television.
Batigne, the president of the pension advisory firm Sapiendo, appeared on the programme Bonjour ! Avec vous to address common concerns about retirement payouts. She confirmed that pensioners have the legal right to challenge inaccurate calculations, but warned that securing a correction is complicated and takes a long time.
Batigne urged individuals to examine their employment history thoroughly before formally claiming their pensions. She warned that disputing an existing calculation after payments have started requires extensive documentation.
The issue was raised by a viewer named Chantal, who retired one year ago on a pension of 1,200 euros per month. Chantal asked whether discovering an error in her pension file meant she could request a fresh calculation or whether her monthly total was settled permanently.
Challenging pension calculations and proving records
Batigne reassured Chantal that reopening a pension file remains possible under French rules, even after retirement has begun. However, she pointed out that the legal process becomes far more arduous because the pensioner must provide clear evidence of the mistake.
A major obstacle for many retirees is that they fail to keep their career statements after leaving work, Batigne noted. That document records all the contribution points and quarterly insurance periods accumulated across a working life, making it essential proof when requesting an administrative review.
In the French pension system, basic state pensions are calculated on contribution trimesters, which represent three-month blocks of registered employment, alongside points accrued in compulsory complementary schemes. Missing employer filings, uncredited seasonal work or unregistered leaves of absence frequently lead to omitted trimesters that lower final pension amounts.
Family circumstances can also significantly alter pension totals, prompting another viewer, Francoise, to seek advice. Francoise explained that she had raised three children and interrupted her career for several years, asking if those career breaks entitled her to an increased payout and whether it was too late to claim.
Pension increases for parents of three children
Batigne explained that raising children provides two distinct advantages under French pension regulations. Parents receive child trimesters, set at eight trimesters per child, and those who have raised at least three children receive an automatic 10 percent increase on their basic pension payout.
To determine whether those rights were applied, Batigne advised Francoise to examine her pension notification letter. That official document outlines the exact method used to calculate the pension and shows whether the authorities included the 24 child trimesters due for three children alongside the 10 percent basic pension bonus.
Under French social security law, child trimesters compensate parents for career interruptions and lost earnings associated with child-rearing. The 10 percent increase applies to the basic pension managed by the general social security scheme, providing permanent financial assistance to parents of larger families.
Working during retirement and rule changes for 2027
A third viewer, Andre, asked whether retirees can increase their monthly pension payments by returning to employment after they have retired.
Batigne explained that two separate frameworks govern combining employment and retirement in France. One system is currently in force, while a second legal framework is scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2027.
Under both legal setups, workers who reach the age of 67 can freely combine their pension with earned wages, Batigne said. Because these individuals continue to earn money, they pay social security contributions into the pension fund.
Those ongoing contributions mean that working pensioners accumulate new pension entitlements, Batigne concluded. When they decide to permanently withdraw from the workforce, they can claim those extra rights by submitting a new application to have their pension recalculated.
In France, 67 is the statutory age of automatic full-rate pension entitlement, where retirees avoid reduction penalties regardless of the number of quarters they completed. The ability to accrue new pension rights while working allows older workers to build greater financial security if they remain active in their later years.
