TRUE OR FALSE. Is it true that a foreigner over 65 years old, who has just arrived in France, “receives the minimum old age”, as Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella assert?

In the middle of the campaign for the European elections, the head of the National Rally list, Jordan Bardella, and the leader of the RN deputies, Marine Le Pen, affirm that “someone who does not have French nationality, who arrives from “foreigner, who is over 65 years old and who has never contributed, receives the old age minimum”. It’s a big shortcut.

Can a foreigner who has just settled in France receive the minimum old age pension? In the middle of the campaign for the European elections, this is what Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen are saying. “Today, you arrive in France, from abroad, you are over 65, you receive a minimum pension of 600 or 700 euros”denounces the president of the National Rally and head of the European list, on France Inter. “I don’t find it normal that someone who does not have French nationality, who arrives from abroad, who is over 65 and who has never contributed, receives the minimum old age pension”, protests the leader of the RN deputies in the National Assembly, on BFM TV. True or false ?

Specific conditions

It’s a big shortcut. Any foreigner who arrives in France at the age of 65 or over does not receive the solidarity allowance for the elderly (Aspa), which today replaces the old-age minimum. Foreigners can indeed receive this aid, intended for retirees who have low incomes, but there are specific conditions to respect.

First, to obtain this allowance, foreigners must be in a legal situation and have a fixed and stable residence in France, at least nine months per year. Then, they must either have a residence permit allowing them to work for at least ten years, or they must be considered stateless or have obtained refugee status or subsidiary protection. An exception also exists for foreigners who fought for France or nationals of a member state of the European Economic Area.

Finally, like residents of French nationality, to obtain Aspa, foreigners must earn less than a certain income threshold, set at €1,012 per month for a single person. They must submit a file to their pension fund which will assess all the eligibility criteria.

A third of beneficiaries are foreigners

If they meet these criteria, beneficiaries can receive up to €1,012 per month, for a single person who has no income. But not all Aspa beneficiaries receive this amount. If they have a small side job or receive a small pension, this income is deducted from the allowance. For example, if they receive €800 in retirement pension, they will receive around €200 in Aspa. The vast majority of beneficiaries do not receive the full allowance.

Foreigners represent around a third of Aspa beneficiaries, as specified by the Court of Auditors in a report published in 2021. In all, 512,000 people received Aspa in 2022, according to Drees calculations. But the non-recourse rate is high: many people do not request this allowance from their pension fund. One in two eligible people does not receive the old-age minimum, particularly foreigners, who are not aware of all their rights.