these discreet good news of the year 2023

Reform or no reform, the various mechanisms recalculating certain thresholds applicable to pensions each year changed in January 2023. In some cases, this is synonymous with good news for those who are going to retire in the next few months. Here are 2 mechanical evolutions rather favorable to new withdrawals.

No, there is no question here of the annual revaluation of your retirement pensions. For complementary products, the increase dates back to last fall, on the Agirc-Arrco side… and the next one will wait until November 1, with a new high increase awaiting the sight of inflation. For the Retirement Insurance basic pension, the exceptional increase of 4% last summer reduced the annual increase of January 2023 to the bare minimum, +0.8%. But other mechanical developments are more discreet…

Retirement: these pension increases that await you for 2023

1 – The unfreezing of the retirement ceiling of the general scheme

Are you retiring in the coming months? If you were born before September 1961, the (potential) pension reform and the gradual increase in the retirement age do not concern you. On the other hand, if you ever received a high salary during the last part of your career, you will benefit from the unfreezing of the Social Security ceiling. For what?

For former employees of the private sector, the pension is broken down into two pensions: on the one hand, the basic pension, general scheme, paid by the Cnav; on the other hand, the complementary Agirc-Arrco. However, the Retirement insurance pension is capped. At the time of retirement, your basic pension under the general scheme cannot exceed 50% of the social security ceiling (aside from increases of 10% for 3 children, for example).

From 2020 to 2022, due to the health crisis, the Social Security ceiling has been frozen. Direct consequence: the maximum gross monthly amount of the Cnav pension was thus set at 1714 euros for 3 years.

Good news, therefore, in 2023: the Social Security ceiling has been unfrozen, and has even jumped by 6.9%. The maximum (gross) amount of the basic pension is now 1833 euros. Clearly, if the calculation of your basic pension is affected by this ceiling, claiming your pension rights in this year 2023 rather than in 2022 potentially allows you to boost your pension by more than 100 euros.

My retirement Cnav so much caps, I did not benefit from the 4%. It’s lost?

2 – Minimum pension? Even without reform, it is progressing (a little)

It’s hard to talk about good news here… But all the same, even in the absence of a boost to small pensions (from 1,100 euros depending on the case and if you meet the conditions) as provided for in the pension reform project , the minimum basic pension, the contributory minimum (MiCo) already exists and it is progressing a little. Although timidly.

Mechanically, by annual revaluation, two thresholds increased in January 2023. The amount of the MiCo, already, 684.13 euros. A very timid revaluation, however, since this amount is increasing at the same rate as all basic pensions: therefore +4% last summer and +0.8% in January 2023. It was 652.60 euros gross per month at the start of 2022 and 678.70 euros after the summer boost.

The contributory minimum WITHOUT the pension reform
AmountCondition
Contributory minimum (MiCo)684
Basic pension
Full rate
MiCo major748
Basic pension
Full rate +
120 quarters contributions
Ceiling MiCo
1323
Basic + complementary
Limits the MiCo if repos of basic + complementary exceed the ceiling
Number of beneficiaries4.7million withdrawals (33% direct withdrawals from the general scheme)

Rounded amounts, as of January 1, 2023. Sources: legislation + Cnav (statistics at the end of 2022)

On the other hand, the overall minimum pension ceiling (basic + supplementary pension ceiling) he progresses at the rate of the Smic. So faster now. As a result of the increase in the Smic on January 1, 2023, the amount of the monthly ceiling for personal pensions, for the allocation of the minimum contributory on January 1, 2023, is set 1322.87 euros, we read in a circular from the Cnav. A year earlier, this ceiling was 1240.88 euros. Or 6.6% better in 2023.

However, if your retirement occurs in 2023, and you are eligible for the major MiCo but the addition of your complementary comes to exceed this ceiling… then your MiCo is trimmed so as not to exceed this ceiling.

Good news which, however, only concerns a handful of new withdrawals for the year 2023.

Small pension: will you be able to take advantage of the minimum pension of 1200 euros?

source site-96