Are periods of unemployment taken into account for retirement?

Verified 15 September 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You are or have been unemployed during your career and you wonder whether these periods are taken into account for retirement.

Your periods of unemployment are taken into account, under certain conditions, by the Social Security Pension Insurance.

We will detail these conditions.

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Your periods of unemployment are taken into account differently depending on the date on which they occurred.

Unemployment from 1980

Periods of compensated unemployment are taken into account by the Social Security Pension Insurance in the calculation of your pension insurance term.

The periods concerned are those during which you received one of the following allowances in particular:

Periods of deferred compensation or waiting periods are taken into account.

1 quarter is posted every 50 days of unemployment, up to a maximum of 4 quarters per calendar year.

France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) automatically forwards the information to Pension Insurance.

Your compensation has ended

Subsequent periods of unpaid unemployment directly a period of unemployment for which compensation has been paid is taken into account by the Pension Insurance in the calculation of your pension insurance term, within one year.

If you meet the following conditions, periods of unpaid unemployment which follow directly a period of unemployment for which compensation is paid shall be taken into account up to 5 years :

  • You are at least 55 years of age at the end of your unemployment benefit
  • You have contributed at least 20 years to retirement under all mandatory basic plans
  • You do not have a right to a new mandatory pension insurance plan

1 quarter is posted every 50 days of unemployment, up to a maximum of 4 quarters per calendar year.

France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) automatically forwards the information to Pension Insurance.

You were never compensated

Unemployment from 2011

The 1re period unemployment rate not compensated for your career is taken into account by the Pension Insurance, in the calculation of your pension insurance term, within one-and-a-half years (6 quarters).

This 1re period of unpaid unemployment of one and a half years may be continuous or discontinuous.

1 quarter is posted every 50 days of unemployment, up to a maximum of 4 quarters per calendar year.

France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) automatically forwards the information to Pension Insurance.

Unemployment before 2011

The 1re period unemployment rate not compensated for your career is taken into account by the Pension Insurance, in the calculation of your pension insurance term, within of one year.

This 1re period of one year's unpaid unemployment may be continuous or discontinuous.

1 quarter is posted every 50 days of unemployment, up to a maximum of 4 quarters per calendar year.

France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) automatically forwards the information to Pension Insurance.

Unemployment before 1980

All periods of unemployment, whether compensated or not, are taken into account by the Social Security Pension Insurance in the calculation of your pension insurance term.

1 quarter is posted every 50 days of unemployment, up to a maximum of 4 quarters per calendar year.

France Travail (formerly Pôle emploi) automatically forwards the information to Pension Insurance.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

  • Pension insurance - 39 60

    To inform you about your situation, ask a question about your file, access personal information (follow-up of the file, latest payments, etc.).

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