The idea of retirement in France comes with a ready-made picture: a stone house, a market on Saturday, a glass of something local at six. The administration behind the picture is less poetic but quite reliable. For people who stop working in another European country and move to France, two documents carry most of the weight: the form that settles healthcare, and the tax treaty that settles who taxes the pension.
Can you retire in France with a foreign pension?
Yes. Your right to stay as an EU, EEA or Swiss citizen retiree depends on two conditions: health insurance and sufficient resources, so that you do not become a burden on the French social assistance system. Service-Public says the administration cannot demand more than fixed monthly amounts, which were €651.69 for a single person and €977.54 for a couple without children on 1 April 2026. A residence card is optional (see residence card in France for EU citizens).
If you live in the EU, each country that pays you a pension generally pays it into a bank account in your country of residence, according to Your Europe. Ask your pension body how to give it your new account details (see opening a bank account in France).
How does healthcare work for retirees: the S1 form
If you receive a pension from another EU, EEA or Swiss country, ask the body that pays it for an S1 form before you leave. Each family member who comes with you gets their own. Once in France, register the S1 with the CPAM of your place of residence, with a birth certificate showing your parentage and an ID document. You are then covered by the French health insurance, at the expense of your pension country, and you create your ameli account and order your carte Vitale.
The S1 applies only to a pension from a statutory base scheme. For the full picture of French healthcare, see healthcare in France for expats. If you hold a Swiss pension only, you have three months after settling to choose between Swiss and French health insurance.
What about British pensioners?
Cleiss confirms that a UK State Pension continues to be paid while you live in France. GOV.UK says you may be entitled to state healthcare paid for by the UK if you live in France and receive a UK State Pension. The S1 comes from the NHS Overseas Healthcare team (NHS Business Services Authority): you apply online, up to 90 days before departure, with an address in France, and then you register the S1 with your CPAM.
If you also receive a pension from France, France becomes responsible for your health cover. As a British citizen who arrives after 2020, you must in any case first have a regular right of stay: see moving to France from the UK.
Is your pension taxed in France?
As soon as France becomes your tax home, you declare your worldwide income there, including the pension, on form 2042 with annex 2047 for foreign income, and the tax treaty between France and the paying country avoids double taxation. Often France gives a tax credit, either equal to the tax paid abroad or equal to the French tax on that income, depending on the treaty. The boxes on the return are not the same in each case.
Two cautions. Private pensions are generally taxable in the country of residence, while a civil servant's pension often stays taxable in the paying state, so read the "pensions" article of your treaty. And social levies: CSG, CRDS and the 0.3 per cent Casa apply to people who are both tax-resident in France and covered by a compulsory French health scheme. With an S1, your care is paid by your pension country, so in principle your foreign pension should not bear them, but the tax doctrine does not deal with the S1 case directly: check with your tax office (SIP) before you file. There is a box to tick on the 2042-C return if you are covered by the social security of another EEA country or Switzerland. For the bigger tax picture, read tax residency in France.
What is the retirement age if you retire in France?
It matters only if you worked in France. Service-Public gives the legal age as 62 years and 9 months for people born between 1 January 1963 and 31 March 1965, 63 for those born from April to December 1965, then three more months for each year of birth up to 64 for people born from 1969. Check the current table before counting on a date, as the rules have changed several times.
If you worked in several European countries, each pays its share in proportion to your years there, or its national pension alone if that is higher, and your periods count together to reach the minimum duration. Each decision is summarised in a P1 form, and each country pays at its own legal age. Ask your pension body for information at least six months ahead.
Where should a retiree live in France?
Think about hospitals, trains, airports and the language you need for appointments. A village in the Lot is lovely until you need a specialist. Our best places to live in France and the cost of living in France help you pick.
What about the overseas departments and Saint-Martin?
The same coordination rules apply in the overseas departments, though the funds are called CGSS or CSS. Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy, French Polynesia and New Caledonia have their own tax systems: check before settling there, and see living in the French overseas departments.
What documents do you need to retire in France?
Before you retire in France, build a folder that can answer every administration. The S1 form for each person who travels with you comes first. Then a birth certificate showing parentage, a valid passport or ID card, a proof of address in France and a RIB. Each year you will also need the certificate from your pension body that shows the gross amount of your pension and the tax withheld abroad, because you need it for your French tax return. Keep copies, paper and digital.
What do you do if you are not yet drawing a pension?
If you have not claimed yet and you worked in several countries, you apply to the pension body of the country where you live, or to that of your last country of employment, which gathers the records from the other countries. Ask for information at least six months before the date you want, as a claim involving several countries can take time. Periods worked in each country are added together to check the minimum duration, and each country pays its own share in proportion to the years you spent there. You then receive a P1 form summarising each decision.
You may need to wait until the age required by each country. A person who has worked in France and in Germany, for example, will be paid by each country when it reaches its own legal age. This is why the date of your first payment can differ from one country to another.
What about care when you visit your home country?
An S1 does not give the same access everywhere. Some countries, such as Germany, Belgium, Spain or Switzerland, treat you fully during your visits. Others, such as Italy or Portugal, only cover the care that is medically necessary. Check with your home institution before you travel, and carry the right cards. The details of French healthcare are in healthcare in France for expats.
What should you plan before you retire in France?
Choose where to live carefully, since retirement is the stage when you most need hospitals, trains and shops within reach. Rent first, buy later (see renting in France and buying property in France). Set up a French bank account for the tax and utility payments. Tell your former country's tax office that you have left. And plan your health cover for the first weeks, until your registration is complete. Before you decide, ask your pension body, or an adviser who knows French tax, to confirm how your own pensions and health cover will work.