All private sector employees must contribute for their supplementary pension to the Association for the supplementary pension scheme for employees (Arrco ) throughout their working life. Executive employees also contribute to the General Association of Executive Retirement Institutions (Agirc ).
These supplementary pension schemes supplement the basic pension paid either by old-age insurance under the general social security scheme for the vast majority of private sector employees, or by the Mutualité sociale agricole (MSA) for the agricultural sector. or by other pension plans specific to certain professions.
Agirc and Arrco, associations whose boards of directors are made up equally of representatives of employers' organizations and employee trade unions, finance current pensions through contributions paid by employers and employees. Each month, the employer must deduct retirement contributions from the salaries of its employees, calculated in proportion to their remuneration. The payslip contains details of these contributions. It is then up to the employer to pay these contributions to the various basic and supplementary pension plans, including Agirc and Arrco.
Unlike the basic pension whose contributions are converted into a quarter of pension insurance, which makes up the basis for calculating the contribution period of each employee, the contributions paid to Agirc and Arrco are transformed into retreat points .
From the start of an employee's career, Agirc and Arrco open an account in the name of each employee from which these points are collected. At the time of retirement, all the points acquired are added up and multiplied by the value of this point to determine the annual amount of the employee's supplementary pension.
In 2016, Arrco's retirement point was €1.2513, that of Agirc €0.4352. In the supplementary pension plans of Agirc and Arrco, it is also possible to buy up to 70 additional pension points per year of higher education completed, within the limit of 3 years. There is therefore a purchase price for these points:€5.4455 for Agirc, €15.6556 for Arrco.
The Arrco and Agirc pension schemes also grant pension rights for periods of unemployment if these are preceded by periods of salaried activity in the private sector or periods of incapacity for work compensated by the basic scheme and if the person concerned is compensated by Pôle Emploi.
As the end of his professional career approaches, the employee must take steps to liquidate his retirement pension. At least four months before his departure, he must apply for payment of his basic pension with social security, but also with the supplementary pension plans of Agirc and Arrco. Pension rights are then triggered according to the point system described above, to be paid to the retiree every month.
There are many tools that allow you to simulate and visualize your acquired rights and the amount of your future retirement throughout your professional life. By creating your personal space on the Agirc and Arrco websites, you can access your career statement online, as well as a simulator of the amount of your retirement.
It is important to take an interest in your career statement to find out if all the periods of activity have been taken into account. From the age of 45, all employees can take stock, free of charge, of their situation with regard to their future retirement by requesting a "retirement information meeting » with the services of Agirc and Arrco.
