A retired couple from the United States have decided to move to France to spend their retirement in this country because they can enjoy free social security there. For a French-American woman, “the French health card (Carte Vitale) is a gift, while the average American earns twice as much as a French person,” she said for the outlet. Ouest-France.
Is it true that American retirees are traveling in droves to France to retire there? Without income tax and with free access to Social Security, it seems that after three months and once they have obtained the VLS-TS visa (a long-term visa equivalent to a residence permit), seniors can apply for their Visale card and benefit from free access to Social Security, according to Le Monde.
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These foreign retirees do not need to have contributions in the country to access Social Security because a tax agreement signed between France and the United States exempts them from income tax. Without a doubt, a great advantage.
A problem that seems like an injustice
The French-American woman interviewed by Ouest-France obtained French nationality several years after settling permanently in the country, where she met her husband. “American retirees only need to obtain a residence visa, demonstrate that they have a minimum income (17,115 euros per year) and have insurance that covers the entire duration of their stay,” he states emphatically.
Another retiree told her story to TF1 Info journalists: “At the age of 60 I suffered a heart attack and that’s when I thought: That’s it! I’m going for it! I’m going to settle in France! That’s why I came, and now I’m living my dream.” At that time, his health insurance cost him more than 400 euros. Today, Janice, who has lived on the Côte d’Azur for nine years, enjoys French health coverage without paying a single euro.
For an American retired couple living in Nice, the situation was similar: “We collect our American pension and spend it in France… They benefit from it and we benefit from the French culture, the advantages (…), it’s a win-win situation,” according to BFMTV.
How does this situation occur?
These events occur because the Universal Health Coverage Law (PUMA), approved in 2016, allows any foreigner, whether American or another nationality, to prove that they have a minimum income (which is approximately a minimum wage) and have health insurance that covers up to 30,000 euros in health expenses. After three months of residence, they can apply for the French health card (Carte Vitale). At that time, any private insurance purchased in your home country is cancelled.
Some political representatives have expressed their disagreement with this measure, just when the National Assembly examines the Social Security Financing Bill (PLFSS), whose purpose is to reduce the deficit by at least 23 billion euros before the end of the year. Among them is François Gernigon, deputy of the Horizons party. “I think that in France, Social Security should manage this matter,” explained the deputy in the main article. “But there should be a minimum quote for a defined care package, and then there should be a care package with options, something like supplemental health insurance,” he said. His amendment will be debated in the Assembly in the coming days.