France Cracks Down on Overseas Retirees in Massive Pension Fraud Sweep

Two categories of retirees are in the sights of the Court of Auditors: retirees living abroad and those combining employment and retirement. The institution particularly wants to put an end to the payment of pensions to deceased retirees or illegitimate beneficiaries due to delays in the transmission of administrative information. The main targets are the 710,000 French retirees residing abroad, mainly in Morocco, Portugal, Algeria or Spain. They will now have to provide within a period of three months a certificate of existence or life, a valid identity document and a birth certificate before receiving their pension. Offenders risk having their pension suspended.

Retirees who continue to work while receiving their pension are also affected by this reform. Their number has almost doubled between 2022 and 2025, it is reported. Some retired doctors or self-employed professionals can thus receive more than 100,000 euros per year thanks to the combination of employment and retirement. However, this possibility was offered to average employees in order to allow them to compensate for the drop in income in retirement. To limit fraud, the Court of Auditors is asking to tighten the eligibility conditions and reduce the amounts received according to the professions, so that the combination of employment and retirement benefits the real beneficiaries.

The Court of Auditors also recommends better coordination between the pension funds and the tax administration in order to automatically detect fraud. The objective is to restore the confidence of contributors while preserving the balance of the French pension system.