Having recently turned 50, I’m taking more interest in my retirement and what my monthly pension will be. I found the information I was looking for on: https://www.info-retraite.fr/. You can log in using FranceConnect if you’re already registered on another site such as impots.gouv.fr. The site has various tools and reports, and I found one showing the number of points I’ve accumulated over the years.

I’ve been an auto-entreprenneur (profession liberale) in France since 2011 and pay my ‘cotisations’ (social charges) each trimestre. As our business has grown, so has my revenue and therefore, the amount of my cotisations. This was also reflected in the number of retirement points I’ve accumulated – but only up till the end of 2015. The years 2016 – 2019 aren’t even mentioned.

Assuming this was some sort of error, I contacted CIPAV, the ‘Caise de Retraite’ for auto-entreprenneurs in a profession liberale. I wrote to them twice and each time, was met with a response that completely ignored my query.

So I did some research and it turns out, there is a reason for this. Particularly enlightening is this interview by the FNAE of Pincent Avocats, a cabinet that has successfully sued the CIPAV a number of times on behalf of auto-entreprenneurs. Here is a summary:

Starting in 2016, the CIPAV has stopped giving any retirement points to auto-entreprenneurs
CIPAV has also reduced the number of points already given for years 2009 – 2015
They made this decision unilaterally and without the consent of the insured (AEs)
There is no recourse via CIPAV; the only option is to sue them for the restitution of retirement points

Pincent Avocats have a dedicated team for dealing with these cases, and charge a flat fee of ~~€120~~ €240 TTC (Update: price changed on 20 March 2020). Details here: https://ae.pincent-avocats.com/.

Main points (in order):

Summary of the CIPAVs actions, resulting in reduction in retirement points, and eventual annual pension payment
Verify whether this applies to you by getting your ‘career summary’ from this site: https://www.info-retraite.fr/portail-info/home.html (create an account or login using France Connect), go to Ma Carrière -> Relève de Carrière, find the page mentioning CIPAV (usually the last page)
Demand a rectification, which can be any of: restitution of points, up to €2000 in damages, up to €1500 allowance for court fees
Why it’s worth paying the fee
Link to the form to start the action and make a payment

This seemed like a reasonable price to reclaim my points, with the potential bonus of some money back for damages and fees. So I filled out the form and paid the €120, then later, supplied them with the requested documentation.

Within a week, they generated a letter to the CIPAV for my approval that contained the points I should have accumulated over the course of my career.

The letter has two sections for the two types of retirement points: base points and complementary points. Each type of point is worth a certain amount of euros / year during retirement. Current year rates are €0.57 / base point, and €2.63 / complementary point. The CIPAV has stopped giving points of either type since 2016, and have dramatically reduced the number of points awarded for the years 2009 – 2015. This will have a major impact on the eventual pension I will receive.

As an example, say the CIPAV claims I have earned 500 base points, and 40 complementary points from 2009 – 2019. According to CIPAV, I would have 2500 base points and 500 complementary points. In euro terms, I would get €280 (base) + €105 (complementary) = €385 / year on retirement according to the CIPAV.

Using the correct calculations, this should be €1450 (base) and €1300 (complementary) = €2750 / year – roughly 7 times as much!

Along with the letter was a brief explanation of what happens next. After CIPAV receives the letter, we must wait 2 months and can then start the action with the Tribunal (Pôle social du Tribunal Judiciaire). These are the regional courts that will eventually hear the case, with the delay varying by region (6 months – 2 years).

So I’m not holding my breath, but based on past cases, I’m hopeful I’ll get some or all of my points restored. I’ll post an update here whenever this finally gets resolved.