A sixty-year-old resident of Vendée explains that she receives a pension of €37.21 per month as a retirement pension, yet she has spent her life working for her loved ones. Since her case is not isolated, we have decided to provide some answers for all those in her situation.
Whether you belong to the general scheme, the Agirc-Arrco complementary or another, you will retire at the legal age or before, depending on your situation. Before this period, you must contribute quarters or accumulate points which will be converted into euros once you are ready to retire. quarters in question are contributed on your monthly income, whether it comes from a professional activity or not. However, it may happen that the amount of your retirement is insignificant even though you have worked all your life. This is the case of this 69-year-old woman who now finds herself with a pension of 37 euros to live on. We tell you more about her situation.
Why get a small pension after working all your life?
Case of a resident of Vendée
A sixty-year-old living in Vendée, precisely in Hermenault, after having worked all her life, receives a pension of €37.21. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Yet, this is the sad reality for this woman whose situation will remain unchanged while many will benefit from a pension increase this month, confides Notre temps. Indeed, this lady spent her life working without ever contributing to the Cnav. Most of her work consisted of helping her relatives. When she was young, she helped her father in his workshop to make mattresses without him declaring her. She confides that: “It was family, so I wasn’t going to demand that Dad declare me. That’s just the way it was..”. Let us remember that it is possible to receive a higher retirement pension than yours without ever having worked in your life.
An undeclared career path
After working for her father for years, the Vendée native continued her journey, this time alongside her husband, a mechanic. He never declared his wife and she never worried about it, after all, he was her husband. She took care of the cash register, the accounting and the reception, jobs considered a marital help and not one professional activity. The only activities that allowed him to obtain retirement rights were annexes. In principle, she could have benefited from a higher pension by being a stay-at-home parent. But unfortunately, she was not aware of this possibility.
A firm but penalizing decision
Although she cannot benefit from a high pension, the sixty-year-old can apply Solidarity allowance for the elderlyHowever, she refuses to make the request, not wanting the State to recover the amounts from her. succession after his deathThe Vendée woman prefers to live with the modest income she currently has.
What does the law provide for in this type of situation?
Women: an aggrieved class?
The case of the sixty-year-old is not an isolated one. Indeed, many retired women in her age group experience the same situation in the Pays de la Loire. Some earn 22% less than men. It seems that inequalities in pensions are not about to finish.
A law that improves things
In 2006, the status of collaborating spouses has undergone changes guaranteeing more rights for women. Thus, in 2022, a new law made the declaration of spouses mandatory. However, it only concerns women who worked before the pension reformDespite her financial problems, the sixty-year-old from Vendée enjoys her modest life, nature and her grandchildren and for her it is worth it.
How can she get pension rights?
She can register as unemployed to obtain retirement rights from France Travail. This will allow her to validate six retirement quarters. Furthermore, this type of unemployment is not compensated, which means that she will not have any points for the supplementary pension.
