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What is the ASPA (Solidarity allowance for the elderly)?

What is the ASPA (Solidarity allowance for the elderly)?

The solidarity allowance for the elderly (Aspa) is allocated every month to retirees who have low resources. Since 2006, the Aspa has replaced what was called the minimum old age. What are the award conditions? What is its amount? How to request the Aspa

What is the Aspa used for?

The Aspa is granted subject to means testing. It allows modest elderly people aged 65 and over to have a minimum income. This allowance is also intended for people who have reached the legal retirement age in the event of incapacity for work.

What are the conditions for benefiting from Aspa?

Several conditions must be met to be eligible for Aspa.

Age

You must be at least 65 years old. However, this age condition does not apply and is replaced by the legal retirement age when the insured are recognized as unfit for work; in the case of former deportees or internees holding the Resistance deportee or internee card or the political deportee or internee card; mothers of working-class families, who have raised at least three children and who have 120 quarters of insurance and justify having carried out manual labor for 5 years during the 15 years preceding the application for a pension; former prisoners of war and recipients of the supplementary invalidity allowance (ASI), of a pension for incapacity for work following an invalidity pension, of an early retirement for disabled persons, of the allowance disabled adults, social assistance for the disabled, blind and severely disabled, the 80% disability card (or the new mobility inclusion card bearing the word "disability") and for insured persons with proof of incapacity permanent at least equal to 50%.

The Residence

To be able to benefit from Aspa, you must reside permanently and regularly in France or in one of these overseas communities:Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Réunion, Saint-Barthélemy and Saint-Martin.

Resources

The resources of the Aspa applicant, and of his spouse, must not exceed a certain ceiling. The latter is 9,998.40 euros per year for a single person and 15,522.54 euros per year for a couple (married, cohabitant or PACS).

Nationality

There is no nationality condition to be able to receive the Aspa. However, persons of foreign nationality must either have held a residence permit authorizing them to work for at least 10 years, or be refugees, stateless persons, have fought for France according to the code for the entry and stay of foreigners. and the right to asylum, or either be nationals of a Member State of the European Union, of another State party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein) or of the Swiss Confederation .

What resources are taken into account to benefit from Aspa?

To find out whether or not you can benefit from Aspa, we consider your resources for the last three months preceding the taking effect of this allowance. These resources (including those of the spouse, cohabiting partner or PACS partner) include:

  • old-age and invalidity pensions
  • professional income
  • income from financial investments, real estate (except the main residence and farm buildings), estimated at 3% of their value
  • income from a gift to descendants made in the last five years. Namely:for property given to persons other than descendants, the value of the donation is converted into a life annuity.

However, some resources are not taken into account for the calculation of the Aspa:

  • family benefits
  • the compensation for treatment of tuberculosis patients provided for in article L 41 of the code of military pensions for invalidity and victims of war
  • the special increase provided for in article L 52-2 of the military disability pension code
  • the supplements granted to persons whose state of health requires the constant assistance of a third party and allocated pursuant to Article L. 18 of the Military Pensions Code or legislation on industrial accidents, insurance welfare and social assistance
  • compensation allowance granted to blind and seriously disabled workers and generally the cash benefits which the persons concerned receive under social assistance
  • the fighter's retreat
  • pensions attached to honorary distinctions
  • housing allowance
  • the recognition allowances mentioned in I and I bis of article 47 of the amending finance law for 1999 no. 99-1173 of 30 December 1999
  • measures of reparation for orphans whose parents have been victims of anti-Semitic persecution.

How much is the Aspa?

The amount of the Aspa is calculated by taking into account the income of the applicant and the ceiling of the resources which gives right to this allowance. Thus, a single person, whose annual income is 8,000 euros, will receive an allowance of 1,998.39 euros per year (9,998.4 € - 8,000 € =1,998.39 €).

The amount of the Aspa, which depends on the resources and the family situation of the applicant, is up to now revalued on April 1 of each year. From 2019, this revaluation will take place on January 1 of each year.

Can Aspa be combined with professional income?

The Aspa is an allowance intended for the most modest elderly people. In order to enable them to improve their purchasing power as much as possible, these seniors have the right to partially combine this allowance with professional income such as wages or self-employed income. This accumulation is possible according to ceilings defined by law and the composition of the household concerned. Details of these ceilings are available on the service-public.fr website.

Is the Aspa recoverable on inheritances?

The solidarity allowance for the elderly, or in any case part of it, can be recovered following the death of the beneficiary. This situation occurs when the net estate (once the deceased's debts have been deducted) exceeds 39,000 euros in mainland France and 100,000 euros in Guadeloupe, Guyana, Martinique, Réunion and Mayotte.

How to request the Aspa?

The Aspa application must be submitted to the old-age insurance fund which pays the pension to the senior concerned, or, for widows and widowers, to the fund which paid the pension to the deceased spouse. This request is made using a form available here.