Dix years after the generalization of the Social Activity Income (RSA) in all French departments, the Court of Auditors has finally looked into this system, its operation and its impact for the nearly two million French people who are now beneficiaries. This is the first assessment since the 2011 work of the national committee set up by the 2008 law establishing the RSA.
In the current context of health crisis and social crisis, the Court of Auditors has therefore embarked on a new analysis of this system which mobilizes nearly 15 billion euros each year. Its conclusions highlight dysfunctions and shortcomings…
Dix years after the generalization of the Social Activity Income (RSA) in all French departments, the Court of Auditors has finally looked into this system, its operation and its impact for the nearly two million French people who are now beneficiaries. This is the first assessment since the 2011 work of the national committee set up by the 2008 law establishing the RSA.
In the current context of health crisis and social crisis, the Court of Auditors has therefore embarked on a new analysis of this system which mobilizes nearly 15 billion euros each year. Its conclusions highlight dysfunctions and shortcomings to be corrected, but also make it possible to set a course and prospects for improvement, “without political objectives” insists its president Pierre Moscovici. “Our goal is never to single out or stab, but to advance public action. »
+46% of beneficiaries in 10 years
By replacing the former Minimum Integration Income (RMI), the RSA has profoundly transformed the panorama of social minima. In ten years, the number of RSA beneficiaries has increased by more than 46%, but has almost stabilized since 2017, except for a rebound in 2020 due to the consequences of the health crisis. They were 2.1 million beneficiaries in 2020, rather 1.9 million in 2021, against 2.5 million in 2016.
A recipient profile is emerging since 75% of them are between 25 and 50 years old (25 being the minimum age to claim it), two thirds are isolated people, two thirds have been registered for at least five years.
The RSA seems effective in its mission to fight against poverty, since eight recipients out of ten say that this income supplement has prevented them from falling into poverty.
A significant non-recourse
Despite the high number of beneficiaries at the national level, the average rate of RSA in the population remains rather low, at 4.5%. However, there are significant disparities between departments: 19% in Réunion, 2.1% in Ille-et-Vilaine or around 4% in Gironde.
The Court of Auditors estimates that 34% of potential beneficiaries do not request it. “At the same time because it is difficult to fight against received ideas around social benefits” estimates the report which recommends to initiate a process of simplification and clarity of the device.
However, the Court of Auditors is not in favor of automating the system, which must be “focused on an active approach”.
“Incomplete and not very intensive” follow-up
The system was actually built on the principle of “rights and duties” between the beneficiaries and the organizations in charge of their support, but only 50% of the beneficiaries sign a reciprocal commitment contract when the RSA is set up. “This logic is ineffective, with very little monitoring of contracts, and therefore, very few or even no sanctions when the commitments made are not kept. »
Support for RSA beneficiaries is “insufficient, because late and not very formalized, with strong mismatches between the needs and the responses provided,” explains Pierre Moscovici. “The finding of incomplete and not very intensive support is valid regardless of the care organization. However, the methods of this follow-up vary enormously according to the departments and the means assigned to them.
Disparities between departments
The increase in the number of beneficiaries over the last ten years raises the question of the financing of the system since expenditure (+69%) has increased much faster than the revenue allocated specifically to the departments in 2003 during the decentralization of the RMI (+20 %). “We are proposing a global overhaul of the financing of the RSA” insists Pierre Moscovici.
“We are not in favor of the recentralisation of the system (Editor’s note: experimentation in Seine-Saint-Denis, and the Landes have applied). The departments must be reinforced in their responsibilities” comments the President of the Court of Auditors. “But they have insufficiently equipped themselves with the tools of management and “authority” to fully exercise their mission: from the allocation of the allowance to sustainable integration into employment.
Difficult access to employment
The President of the Court of Auditors mentions “poor results in terms of returning to work” with only a third of beneficiaries who are in employment (and barely 11% in stable employment), seven years after entering the device. “The promise of the RSA is therefore not kept for two thirds of its beneficiaries. »
Unsurprisingly, in the departments where economic activity is dynamic, it is easier to get out of the RSA. The Court of Auditors assures him: “in accordance with the will of the legislator in 2008 and contrary to a tenacious received idea, it is always “winning” to resume an activity with the RSA, including part-time. This advantage has even been amplified since 2019 by the increase in the activity bonus. »
Improve support
The Court of Auditors proposes in particular to reform the reception of new beneficiaries, “by carrying out a real diagnosis of each situation, by proposing paths towards qualifying training within two years, with an “anti-seniority” clause, so as not to leave the recipients blocked in the system. »
Finally, to improve the deadlines and quality of follow-up, the report recommends better distributing support efforts among the most vulnerable groups or strengthening cooperation between the departments, the Cafs and the MSAs with the regions and Pôle emploi, to guide training courses effectively.
In its survey, the Court of Auditors reveals that more than a third of beneficiaries are asking for better support, this is their main expectation, while only 12% want their allowance to be increased.