Aussie retirees in France face pension limbo

Thousands of Australians who retired to France now find themselves stuck in bureaucratic limbo, without their pensions, writes Judy Crozier.

THE situation for AGING AUSTRALIANS residing in France is dire.

Although there is no Social Security Agreement (SSA) between the two countries, there are SSAs between Australia and 22 of the EU’s 27 countries.

This means we cannot apply for our own Australian old age pension. Many had assumed, not unreasonably, that such an agreement existed between Australia and France, the most influential of the EU countries, or at least that it would not take long to happen.

Since then we have all learned not to assume anything.

Our campaign was launched on Facebook before 2019. We currently have nearly 1,000 members. Australian Pensions in France. We even have a logo!

An additional problem is that we are generally a large group. About 6,000 Australians live in France and the retirement age is up to 3,000. Many of our letters to politicians, ministers and public officials are accompanied by hundreds of signatories; We’re trying to look impressive.

We came to France for many different reasons; for some, initially for business; for others, it is meeting a life partner and starting a family. Some have a history that includes traveling with their families and exposure to the French language and culture. Many of us sold our homes in Australia to finance the move: bridges largely burned.

Our options now are to move to countries that have SSA with Australia. Or we can go back to Australia where we can get the pension quickly but have to wait two years before returning. It doesn’t take much imagination or life experience to realize that none of this is appealing (and impossible for many).

Moving to another country involves not only being cut off from communities and friends, but also from a foreign administration and a language we don’t speak. There are also both obvious and hidden costs. Frankly, very few of us will ever make it back to Australia. Of course, those with French families do not want to leave them or send them to the other side of the world; For most of us, the prospect of finding and paying for accommodation is daunting.

In any case, we now have really strong ties to our local communities, our friends and, in many cases, our partners and families.

Yes, we live on our pension, some of us do too. Not everyone does this. But the Australian superannuation fund is unique and the French administration does not accept that its aim is low or no tax. So this is also disappearing quickly.

Meanwhile, after dozens of bilingual letters have been written over the years to ministers and public officials in both countries, some are renting their homes while living with friends; Others are downsizing or selling valuable possessions. Some, now in their 60s or 70s, are looking for work. Others, of course, realized they couldn’t retire. And some are moving to countries with SSA, despite the difficulties and costs.

We tried to raise some objections through the press, but I was cautious about it. In fact, the reaction of some grumpy public who managed to find me, not to mention the tone of at least one article in the media (Always (insert your own yacht) made me realize that there’s a widespread view that everyone living abroad is probably rich (“entitled”, so I’m told), own their own yacht, and live on a diet of dry martinis.

No we are not. And of course we all know that there is a ceiling, beyond which we will not be entitled to a pension in any case.

I began to feel confident that each letter emphasized our ordinariness and increasing boredom.

Mythologies can cause great harm.

This is gradually turning into a crisis. Every action we take involves loss and anxiety.

Meanwhile, the increasingly impoverished middle class in France affects more than just Australians. French people who move to Australia for work are likely to be affected if they want to return a few years or even decades later. For example, caring for an elderly relative. They will receive little or no pension from either country; In France, the pension system is paid in many countries. trimesters.

Moreover, in these days of strengthening alliances outside the US, none of this makes sense or encourages Australian investors in France. They incur enormous social costs, but offer nothing to employees who settle in France with their families. This is a great deterrent.

People who have worked in France can of course also look forward to receiving only a partial pension from the French system.

But we get the feeling Australia is on the side.

Personally, I had high hopes; until the French Election resulted in the writing of three French governments and an ever-changing group of ministers.

I understand, however, that a delegation of French representatives to Australia is being led by their ambassadors on a tour that includes talks on how to improve relations between the countries. We have our thoughts on this issue and we certainly hope to be part of the agenda.