A third of households eligible for active solidarity income (RSA), which replaced the RMI ten years ago, did not apply for it in 2018, notes a study by the Department of Research, Studies , Evaluation and Statistics (Drees), a body attached to the “health and social” ministries and to that of the Economy and Finance.
Evaluated at 750 million euros, the total amount of these unpaid benefits corresponds to an average of 330 euros per month and per consumption unit, slightly below the basic RSA which currently stands at around 560 euros.
Change in personal situation
This rate of “deficiency” has practically not changed in ten years (-2 points), notes the DREES. Particularly high among 25-29 year olds (44%) and higher education graduates (54%), this phenomenon mainly reflects personal and professional situations that are changing rapidly for these “categories” of profiles, and more frequently lead to their beneficiaries not to initiate the RSA application process, either because they are unaware of their eligibility, or because it occurs within a very limited period of time.
But this rate of absence of applications remains as high (20%) among households in a very precarious situation, and who have been eligible for it for three quarters. It is also higher in rural areas (cities of less than 5,000 inhabitants) and in Paris (45%) than in medium-sized towns of 200,000 to 100,000 inhabitants (20%).
Still no automatic payment
It would seem that the difficulty of obtaining information on one’s rights to the RSA largely explains the rate of non-use of the RSA: this is relatively much lower among households benefiting from other social assistance, such as housing assistance. , family allowances and the activity bonus.
Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 campaign promise, the automatic payment of social minima, in the form of a “single social payment” for all benefits – which would resolve a large part of non-demands – was a work started during the five-year term, but quickly put on hold.