Direct pension
Legal Age
The legal retirement age in the Principality is 65. However, pensions can be drawn early without deduction before this age. The pension is also likely to be increased when it is paid after the 65th birthday.
From age 55: Early retirement pension
This benefit is reserved for mothers who have raised at least three children, for eight years, prior to their 16th birthday.
If this situation applies to you, you can receive your pension from your 55th birthday, provided that you:
- submit a written pension application in the calendar quarter during which it applies,
- on this same date, have ceased all occupational activity and not be receiving benefits for illness, workplace accident or unemployment.
However, after your retirement effective date, it can be combined with a partial or periodic occupational activity which is exclusively occasional in nature. In order to avoid the risk of your pension payments being suspended, please contact the Pension Department for clarification.
Between age 60 and 65: Early retirement pension
You can claim your pension before the legal age of 65, provided that you have ceased all occupational activity and are not receiving any benefits for illness, workplace accident or unemployment.
To exercise your rights from the age of 60, simply submit a written pension application during the calendar quarter in which your birthday occurs.
However, after your retirement effective date, it can be combined with a partial or periodic occupational activity which is exclusively occasional in nature. In order to avoid the risk of your pension payments being suspended, please contact the Pension Department for clarification.
Aged 65: Normal pension
The pension amount depends on the number of points acquired up to the eve of your 65th birthday. From the legal retirement age of 65, the pension can be paid even if you continue to have one or several occupational activities.
However, if you continue to have an occupational activity, you will be required to pay contributions for the entire duration of that activity, under the same terms as prior to your written pension application. However, these contributions will not result in the acquisition of additional points increasing the pension amount.
After age 65: Increased pension
Your pension amount is increased by 1.50% per full quarter between the day of your 65th birthday and the chosen retirement effective date.
An increase is no longer awarded after the age of 70; thus the maximum increase for a pension awarded after the age of 65 is 30%.
Pension start date
Your retirement effective date depends on the day you submit your written application.
From age 55: Early retirement pension
You can choose to set the effective date to the day after you finish work, provided that you submit the application during the calendar quarter in which this date occurs.
The effective date must correspond to the 1st day of the calendar quarter during which it is submitted, if you satisfy the necessary age requirements (minimum age 55) and you have stopped work..
Between age 60 and 65: Early retirement pension
You can choose to set the effective date to the day after you finish work, provided that you submit the application during the calendar quarter in which this date occurs.
An application submitted after this deadline will take effect on the first day of the calendar quarter in which it is submitted.
Aged 65: Normal pension
You have 12 months from the day of your 65th birthday to submit the application.
After this deadline, the pension will take effect on the first day of the calendar quarter during which the application is submitted.
After age 65: Increased pension
In order to establish which is the best option for you, please contact us for a personalised review of your situation.
Your pension will take effect on the first day of the calendar quarter in which the application is submitted, but if you wish, this effective date can be deferred to the day after you stop work (to do so you should submit your application in the calendar quarter in which you stop work).
Minimum working period
Entitlement to a retirement pension paid by the C.A.R. is subject to two conditions:
- that the salaried or equivalent activity has been carried out over continuous or non-continuous periods, over a minimum of 10 years,
- that these periods of activity include a total minimum duration of actual or equivalent work of sixty months.
Validated year
When calculating working periods, any calendar year where the activity has actually been carried out for a continuous or non-continuous period, for no less than 173, 169 or 151 hours depending on the period in question, is validated.
For more specific information, please contact the Pensions Department.
Validated month
The number of months of actual or equivalent work to be taken into consideration is obtained by dividing the total number of working hours completed by 173, 169 or 151 hours depending on the period concerned. The number of validated months cannot exceed the number of months during which the activity has actually been carried out.
When the period of salaried employment in the Principality is less than the minimum required, the pension entitlement may be established by totalisation.
In the event that the pension entitlement cannot be established at the age of 65, the employee can request the reimbursement of the employee share of the C.A.R. contributions.
The pension application submitted to our scheme does not mean that you will not need to carry out the necessary procedures with other basicor supplementary pension schemes to which you may belong.
Calculation
Normal pension
The amount of your direct pension is determined by the number of retirement points earned during your salaried employment in the Principality:
Points earned during a financial year = amount of gross salary / basic salary in force
limited to 4 points per month.
Points are also awarded during periods where work is interrupted and you receive benefits due to illness, maternity, disability, workplace accident and unemployment.
To find out how many retirement points you have earned, please refer to the points statement sent annually by our organisation.
Monthly retirement pension = total number of points x annual value of the point / 12
The annual value of the point, set by Ministerial Decree, is €21.3900 on October 1, 2023.
The monthly value of the basic salary, set by Ministerial Decree, is €1,460.00 on October 1, 2023.
Calculate your monthly pension according to your retirement points
Increased pension
If your pension takes effect after your 65th birthday so as to allow you to receive an increased pension (coefficient of increase varying from +1.50 % to +30 % depending on the selected effective date), the calculation of the amount of your retirement pension takes this increase into account as indicated below:
New number of points = total number of points earned x coefficient of increase
Monthly retirement pension = new total number of points x annual value of the point / 12
Combining retirement and disability
If you are disabled, please refer to the situation described in the section on disability insurance.
Payment
Payment arrangements
The pension is paid by electronic transfer into the beneficiary's bank or postal account:
- every calendar month in arrears, if the beneficiary lives in Monaco, France or Italy, payment being made on the 1st working day of the following month.
- every calendar quarter in arrears, if the beneficiary lives outside the three countries referred to above.
A pension awarded on the basis of less than 15 points is paid quarterly, regardless of the place of residence.
General payment conditions
- In the case of a direct pension, the pension can be paid into a joint account opened in the name of two spouses.
- If you live in MONACO, FRANCE or ITALY, you must provide a life certificate every two years, as detailed in our request.
- If you live outside of these countries, you will have to provide either a life certificate or a certificate of existence every quarter, as detailed individually by the Pensions Department Inspection Service.
- Where a life certificate is required, this document must be issued by a competent authority (consulate, town hall, police, doctor) on the dates indicated.
