Helen1964

I’ve asked this question elsewhere but just wondering whether anyone here has knowledge/experience in this area.

If one spouse (me) had income (pension) and was not with the Sécu (because - thanks to my job - I have the unusual option of keeping full private health insurance after I retire from the organization) and the other spouse was à la charge de la sécu, would CGS/CRDS be levied on the couple’s total joint income?

Or just on the income of the spouse who was a burden on the French health system?

It’s been suggested I put the question to the Fisc via my personal space, which I will do once I work out to formulate it clearly in French….

Listen Very Carefully

If it is any help we both have S1s which means that the UK pays for our health care .We are obviously getting UK state pensions and these are paid tax free in the UK and taxed in France and are subject to a small amount of "social charges" but at a reduced rate, so in an oblique way that may help with your question but as you say I think only the Fisc can give the definitive answer as I think you have an "international" pension with NGOs or something which may be treated differently if I recall your previous posts?

Helen1964

Thanks Listen Very Carefully.
I’ll have a pension from an international org which will be treated by the Fisc as a foreign-source pension.

But the issue is more with the difference in our future healthcare arrangements.

Are CGS/CRDS levied as if both members of the couple were à la charge de la Sécu, even if only one spouse actually is?

If so, fine. But in that case I can see no reason for me to take up my employer’s offer of private health insurance (for myself only, husband wouldn’t be covered) after retirement. Because I’d be paying the private insurance premiums PLUS the full whack in CGS/CRDS for husband.

Listen Very Carefully

TBH if you are going to have to be paying for your private health care I think you would be better off joining CPAM as it would be "free" if you have a pension of any sort.All you would need to consider is a top up .So if you can find out the answer to the social charges and how much a top up would cost as opposed to paying for the private insurance and make a decision bearing in mind that private insurance will go up every year and will it cover ongoing illness? On the plus side CPAM will cover ongoing chronic conditions itself so a top up will not be affected or take into account an ongoing problem.In addition whether you are with CPAM or private your place in the queue will be based on clinical need

Helen1964

Joining the Secu would only be "free" in that, yes, we wouldn't have to pay the PUMA tax (CSM).
But it would mean I that would be liable to CGS and CRDS on my pension, which would be a really significant sum.
If I weren't a burden on the French health system, I could take the appropriate box in my French tax return, exempting me from those social charges.

If, however, I am going to be paying the CGS and CRDS in any case, because my husband will definitely be with the Secu, then no point in paying private healthcare premiums on top of that.

The private healthcare I get through my employer isn't like ordinary commercial private healthcare. Absolutely everything is covered, there are no exclusions, and the premiums never increase with age. Also, the cover applies worldwide. So it's a really good deal.

So, yes, I really need to find out whether, when deciding how to levy social charges, the French authorities look at the couple's joint income, or treat each member of the couple separately. I suspect it's the former. In which case, fair enough.

Listen Very Carefully

Your healthcare coverage is a really good policy but as you say it is going to be down to the Maths and how the Fisc view your pension as my police pension is social charge free