Do you benefit from one of the various housing benefits (ALS, ALF, APL)? It is therefore likely that you saw your monthly aid drop (or increase) by a few hundred euros in February. At the origin of this decrease: a recalculation of your rights by the family allowance fund (Caf). We help you understand this new way of working and therefore the reasons for the drop in benefits for some French people.
Why have my APL dropped?
The reform of housing assistance came into force on January 1, 2021, after a vote in the National Assembly which was postponed many times. Contrary to what one might think, this reform does not change the way you are calculated aids. What changes is that the latter are no longer calculated according to your income from two years ago (N-2), but according to those of the last twelve months (N-1). This novelty, which is intended to be "fairer" and "in real time" does not take into account the current situation of your bank account, but only the income that you declared over the last year. In other words, if you had an increase in income in 2020, your APL will be significantly lower in 2021. And vice versa. The first changes were made with the payments for the month of February, since they cover the month of January, the period when the reform comes into force. Some households have seen their aid reduced by up to 90% (from 300 euros to 30 euros for example), or even reduced to nothing, because of this new reform.
With their reform, I supposedly no longer have the right to APL because 1000 euros in work-study program is "too much to earn", so I am withdrawing 390 euros and I will be forced to return my apartment in Paris because otherwise I will end the month with 100 euros! Please help your French students ??
– Juliette (@ju_auffray) February 1, 2021
In order to illustrate the new functioning of the APL, the Minister of Housing Emmanuelle Wargon gave the following example: "A single person who earned 1,000 euros per month in 2019, then 1,100 euros in 2020, will see his APL decrease gradually and over one year from 77 to 44 euros per month. Conversely, an employee who experiences a period of partial unemployment from April to August 2020 will see his APL increase by around 30 euros per month. "
An advantageous system for some
If many households deplore a considerable drop in their aid, which is completely incompatible with their current needs, others will be luckier. Thanks to this new reform, people who work part-time or who have experienced periods of unemployment over the last twelve months (because of the health crisis, among others) will be more advantaged. Since their income has experienced a sharp drop at N-1, they will see their APL increase over these periods in 2021. Ditto for students who should be spared overall. They should be subject to a "lump sum" even if they are employees. In this way, the amount of their aid should remain the same or in any case not decrease.
Should you update your resources every quarter?
In order to avoid the unpleasant surprise of seeing your rights cut in addition to having been reduced, it is preferable to respond to the alert on your Caf space which invites you to fill in your resources. Note, however, that the Caf takes care of retrieving all the information relating to your income and salaries from the tax authorities. These are easily accessible from taxes thanks to the implementation of withholding tax. However, it will be necessary to think about systematically regularizing any change relating to your family situation, housing, as well as the various income (turnover, alimony, etc.) which also enter into the calculation of your social assistance.
Read also :
⋙ Money: how to help a loved one financially
⋙ How do I create a PayPal account and receive money?
⋙ Public Service +: the site that helps you decode administrative jargon