The declaration of retirement pensions is a crucial step for retirees in 2025. As the income declaration campaign is in full swing, it is essential to ensure that the amounts reported to the tax authorities are accurate. Verifying and correcting your declared pensions can prevent many inconveniences. This article explores how to navigate this process smoothly, utilizing digital tools and practical advice to rectify any potential errors.
In 2025, the income declaration campaign is underway, and retirees, just like active workers, must declare their income, including pensions. To simplify this task, retirement funds automatically send the taxable amount of pensions to the tax authorities. Therefore, in the spring, retirees receive a pre-filled declaration that they must verify. These documents enable retirees to correct and accurately inform the tax authorities about their income.
To ensure the accuracy of the amounts indicated on their income tax return, retirees should compare these figures with those on their tax certificates. These documents, provided by the retirement funds, are accessible online. In case of an error or omission in the pre-filled declaration, the tax certificate allows for correction and proper reporting of income to the tax authorities. Retirees can also obtain this information by phone for certain schemes, ensuring a precise and reliable verification of the data transmitted to the tax authorities.
To access your tax certificates, log in to your account on Info-retraite.fr or via the mobile app 'Mon compte retraite'. A three-year history is available for consultation, allowing you to review documents from previous years. Each retirement scheme offers this service on its respective platforms. For instance, for the general scheme, retirees can visit their personal space on the Assurance retraite website. For the Agirc-Arrco scheme, retirees can access their tax certificate from their dedicated site. For those less familiar with digital tools, a telephone service is available to retrieve the necessary information. This accessibility ensures a simplified and efficient management of tax declarations for all retirees.
It is crucial to refer to the tax certificate. This document allows you to rectify and accurately declare your income to the tax authorities. If you notice an anomaly, use the tax certificate to adjust the amounts directly on your declaration. For those who prefer to avoid digital tools, it is possible to obtain this information by phone. For example, for the Agirc-Arrco scheme, contact 0970 660 660 with your social security number at hand. This telephone service provides accessible and quick assistance to correct any inaccuracies in your tax declaration.
In 2025, the retirement system in France exacerbates the differences between professional categories. Executives, often better paid than average, might believe they are shielded from financial setbacks in retirement. However, the reality is much more complex and potentially dramatic. The replacement rate, a key indicator representing the portion of your last salary paid as a pension, falls to 52.9% for an executive retiring at 62 years and 6 months. This drastic decline is bound to create financial difficulties for those who have not anticipated this loss.
This relatively low rate is explained by the composition of executive income. Bonuses, which often represent a significant part of their salary, are not included in the calculation of pensions. This omission significantly reduces retirement income prospects for this professional category and raises questions about fairness. Working hard to earn benefits that collapse at retirement is a cruel disillusionment.
Public servants are not spared either and must also deal with marked inequalities between their last salary and the pension received upon retirement. A category B civil servant retiring at 62 years and 6 months benefits from a replacement rate of 62.9%. This situation is already concerning, but even more so for a category A civil servant whose career has been marked by bonuses: their rate drops to 47.8%. This reality highlights another facet of the problem—the indifference to variable remuneration aspects in pension calculations.
Why this gap? These differences stem from a remuneration structure that, like for executives, does not fully consider bonuses and other work-related benefits. This omission leads to a significant drop in income for many public servants, transforming what was supposed to be a benefit into a genuine trap once retirement age is reached. Non-executives, too, face the uncertainties of a retirement system that offers little advantage.
While non-executives enjoy a replacement rate of 76.1%, they still face a less comfortable reality than it seems. Without bonuses to artificially inflate their salary, the calculation is straightforward, and the pension remains meager compared to the actual needs of daily life. A higher rate does not necessarily mean that daily life becomes easier.
For these employees, the low pension level can quickly lead to increased precarity in retirement, leaving them in a very vulnerable situation. The situation becomes even more challenging when considering the limited resources available after social deductions, making any future planning uncertain. To prevent these difficulties, the replacement rate remains a crucial tool for assessing financial risks related to retirement.
Understanding the replacement rate is essential for anticipating income drops at retirement. It is a vital indicator that helps estimate how far your retirement pension will be from your last salary. It lays the groundwork for necessary reflection to ensure a decent standard of living. Knowing this indicator is also a step towards better personal financial management. It is crucial to be aware of the low levels observed and organize resources accordingly. Understanding it means anticipating, investing, and potentially modifying expectations regarding retirement life.
In 2025, the realities of retirement in France raise critical questions about fairness and financial preparation. While public servants and executives will suffer dramatic income drops, non-executives will also discover that their percentage benefits are insufficient to cover everyday needs. The time for waiting is over—action is needed for those who wish to preserve their standard of living in the face of a potentially harsh retirement.
The Ministry of Finance is exploring various levers to close a budget for 2025 under pressure. Thomas Cazenave, Minister in charge of Public Accounts, mentioned the need to raise up to 20 billion euros. One option discussed is no increase in pensions from January 2026. Freezing pensions would mean that the amounts paid would remain fixed despite changes in inflation. Another idea discussed is differentiated treatment according to pension levels, where only retirement incomes above a certain threshold, such as 4,000 euros monthly, could be excluded from any revaluation.
The average pension is estimated at 1,500 euros gross. With the cost of living increasing, maintaining pensions at their current level would translate into a real loss of purchasing power for the most vulnerable, especially those whose pensions barely approach the minimum old-age pension. Retiree associations are raising alarms, reminding that the stability of the amount is not enough to maintain a decent standard of living. When inflation rises and pensions stagnate, the risk of falling into precarity becomes very real.
The political choice of a possible freeze would send a strong message: that of a state willing to consider pensions as a variable adjustment. For millions of citizens who have worked and contributed throughout their lives, this signal would be perceived as a form of abandonment. Implementing such a measure today could also pave the way for its generalization in the future. The precedent set in 2025 could repeat itself in other tense economic contexts, severely undermining trust in the retirement system and rekindling social tensions already sensitive regarding purchasing power.
The debate on pensions is just beginning. Between the state's economic imperatives and the legitimate expectations of retirees, the government will have to make tough decisions in a complex equation. What is certain is that the issue of retirement is no longer merely technical: it touches on intergenerational justice, respect for commitments, and social stability.
