The statement of sumsStatement · Working while retired
Working while retired in France in 2026: full or capped cumulation, the 6-month rule at the last employer, and a statement of your pension
If your first French basic pension starts before 1 January 2027, the current rules apply, even for a job taken later (law of 30 December 2025, article 102). Cumulation is full if you have claimed all your pensions and reached 67, or the legal age with the full rate. Otherwise, pensions plus pay counted at 98.25% must stay under €2,916.85 gross a month or your last pay.
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Let’s look at your situation
Give your pension’s start date, your gross pensions, your last pay and the new job.
Example questions
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Which figures apply to working while retired in 2026?
The year’s amounts, for a first basic pension taken before 2027.
- Minimum monthly gross cap for capped cumulation, 160% of the Smic
- €2,916.852026 · Service-public, sheet F13243
- Share of the new pay counted against the cap
- 98.25%2026 · Service-public, sheet F13243
- Annual gross cap on the second basic pension
- €2,4032026 · Service-public, sheet F13243
- Age for full cumulation, whatever the insurance record
- 67pensions taken before 2027 · Service-public, sheet F13243
Will your pension be cut if you take a job?
Give your pension’s start date, your situation, your gross pensions, your last pay and the new job: the statement applies full cumulation or the cap, works out the cut and dates the declaration. The example: a pension taken on 1 June 2026 without the full rate, €1,800 of gross pensions of which €1,300 basic, a job taken on 1 October with a new employer at €1,800 gross a month.
Fictional example · the cumulation statement
Capped cumulation: €651.65 over the cap, your basic pension falls to €648.35 a month.
- Basic pension after the cut
- €648.35
- Maximum gross pay with no cut
- €1,136.74
- Declare the job before
- 1 November 2026
- Gross pensionsbasic and complementary€1,800.00€1,800.00
- New pay countedat 98.25%, its CSG base€1,768.50€3,568.50
- Cumulation cap160% of the Smic, 2026(€2,916.85)€651.65
Excess taken off the basic pension€651.65
Indicative result: one salaried job, a single basic pension to cut; your pension fund confirms the last pay counted.
Full or capped cumulation: which situation are you in?
The rule depends on the pensions you claimed, your age and your employer.
| Situation | Cumulation | Text |
|---|---|---|
| All pensions claimed, aged 67 | Full, no cap | Sheet F13243 |
| All pensions claimed, legal age and full-rate quarters | Full, no cap | Sheet F13243 |
| A compulsory pension, French or foreign, not claimed | Capped | Sheet F13243 |
| Pension without the full rate by quarters, before 67 | Capped: €2,916.85 or the last pay | Articles D161-2-7 and D161-2-9 |
| Back with the last employer within 6 months | Basic pension suspended if capped; no new rights if full | Article D161-2-15; sheet F13243 |
| First basic pension from 1 January 2027 | New rules, threshold set by decree | Law no. 2025-1403, article 102 |
With full cumulation, you can take or keep a job from the day you retire (sheet F13243).
Sources: Service-public F13243 · CSS D161-2-7 · CSS D161-2-9 · CSS D161-2-15 · Law 2025-1403, article 102
Do the 2027 rules concern you?
No, if your first basic pension starts before 1 January 2027, even if you take a job years later (law of 30 December 2025, article 102, XI; Assurance retraite, update of 24 September 2026).
For a first pension from 2027: before the legal age, the pension is cut by the earnings; between the legal age and 67, by half of the excess over a threshold set by decree; from 67, cumulation is full.
Sources: Law 2025-1403, article 102 · Assurance retraite
How is the cap worked out?
Your gross pensions, basic and complementary, plus the new pay counted at 98.25%, its CSG base, must not exceed €2,916.85 gross a month in 2026, or your last pay if higher: the average of the last 3 calendar months (articles D161-2-7, D161-2-9 and D161-2-10).
Above it, each basic pension is cut by the excess, and is no longer paid if the cut exceeds it (article D161-2-16).
Sources: CSS D161-2-7 · CSS D161-2-9 · CSS D161-2-10 · CSS D161-2-16
What do you declare to the pension fund, and when?
Within the month after taking the job, write to the fund paying the pension of your last scheme: employer, start date, earnings and payslips (article D161-2-13).
With full cumulation, attach a sworn statement listing your schemes and certifying that you receive all your pensions.
Source: CSS D161-2-13
What do retirees taking a job in France ask?
Can you go back to your former employer?
Yes, but with capped cumulation, a return within 6 months suspends the basic pension until the job ends, at the latest the end of the sixth month (article D161-2-15).
Does working in retirement open new rights?
With full cumulation only: a second basic pension at the full rate, capped at €2,403 gross a year in 2026, that is 5% of the social security ceiling (article D161-2-22-1), and Agirc-Arrco points (sheet F13243).
Is the €2,916.85 cap a maximum salary?
No: it limits the total of gross pensions and counted pay; the possible salary therefore depends on your pensions (sheet F13243).
What if the job is declared late?
Outside the one-month period, the cut applies from the month the total went over the cap, not after the fund’s decision (article D161-2-16, IV; sheet F13243).
What does article 102 of the French social security financing law for 2026 say?
The date that separates the old cumulation rules from the new ones.
Le présent article s’applique aux assurés qui entrent en jouissance de leur première pension de vieillesse de base à compter du 1er janvier 2027.
Par dérogation, le présent article n’est pas applicable lorsque le titulaire de la pension est entré en jouissance, avant cette date, d’une autre pension de vieillesse de base, à l’exception d’une pension liquidée au titre des 1° à 5° de l’article L. 161-22-1-2 du code de la sécurité sociale dans sa rédaction résultant du présent article.
In English, briefly (our summary, not an official translation): This article applies to insured people who start receiving their first basic old-age pension from 1 January 2027. By way of exception, it does not apply when the pension holder started receiving, before that date, another basic old-age pension, except for a pension paid under 1° to 5° of article L. 161-22-1-2 of the Social Security Code as worded by this article. Our note: for a first pension taken before 2027, the current cumulation rules therefore keep applying.
Which texts does working while retired rest on?
- Law no. 2025-1403 of 30 December 2025 on social security financing for 2026, article 102Légifrance, Journal officiel
- Social Security Code, article D161-2-22-1 (cap on the second pension)Légifrance
- Working while retired as an employee (sheet F13243, in French)Service-public.fr · checked on 1 January 2026
- Social Security Code, article D161-2-7 (last pay)Légifrance
- Social Security Code, article D161-2-9 (160% of the Smic)Légifrance
- Social Security Code, article D161-2-10 (pay counted)Légifrance
- Social Security Code, article D161-2-16 (cutting the pension)Légifrance
- Social Security Code, article D161-2-13 (declaring the job)Légifrance
- Working while retired: the rules are changing (in French)L’Assurance retraite · updated on 24 September 2026
- Social Security Code, article D161-2-15 (back with the last employer)Légifrance
Texts cited last checked: 27 September 2026