Craftsmen, traders and industrialists contribute to retirement at a rate equivalent to the sum of employer and employee contributions.

Withdrawal from working life allows to benefit from an old-age pension called basic retirement.

Its amount is calculated on the basis of average annual income, the pension rate and the duration of insurance for all plans.

The pension calculation is different for the period of insurance prior to 1973 and for the period since 1973.

Before 1973: a points system

The insured had the choice of his contribution class which yielded a number of points.

The amount of this part of the pension is: number of earned points x value of pension point.

The calculation of the pension for rights acquired from 1973 has implications for the pension for the period before 1973. This will be reduced if the insured does not justify a full rate.

Since 1973: aligned with the wage-earner scheme

For contributions paid from 1973 onwards, the basic retirement pension is calculated using the same formula as that of the employees' scheme.

Calculation mode : Average annual income × Retirement rate × (number of validated insurance quarters / reference period)

Average annual income

This is the average of the best contributory earnings in the best years of activity, up to Pass: titleContent.

The number of years taken into account can vary from 10 to 25 depending on the year of birth.

The determination of the best years is carried out all regimes combined.

Retirement rate

The most favorable rate is the full rate of 50%.

The retirement pension of a craftsman, trader or industrialist corresponds to50% the average annual income calculated by averaging the best 25 years (for insured persons born from 1953).

To qualify for the full rate, one of the following conditions must be met:

• Have reached the statutory retirement age increased by 3 years, regardless of the duration of insurance, 
• Proof of a certain number of insurance quarters, depending on the year of birth,
• Be in a particular situation that warrants early retirement (e.g. unfit for work, disabled, veteran, deported or prisoner of war).

The periods taken into account for the calculation of the rate are as follows:

• Periods of contributions: compulsory or voluntary, to an old-age insurance scheme 
• Similar periods: military service, war, hospitalization over 2 months, disability, unemployment 
• Increased duration of insurance for children, hardship 
• Equivalent periods: periods of participation by a family member in craft or commercial activity without benefiting from a compulsory old-age insurance scheme or activity abroad before 1^er April 1983, for example.

These periods are retained within the limit of 4 quarters per year. calendar year, even in the case of simultaneous activities under different schemes.

What happens in case of insufficient quarters?

The insured person may retire between the statutory retirement age and the full rate age, but the amount of the basic pension is reduced.

• For insured persons born in 1951, it is reduced by 1.50% by missing quarter.
• For insured persons born in 1952, it is reduced by 1.375% by missing quarter.
• For insured persons born from 1953, it is reduced by 1.25% by missing quarter.

The discount applies to a maximum of 20 quarters.

What happens in case of additional quarters?

Any quarter contributed beyond the statutory retirement age and beyond the number of quarters required to obtain the full rate provides an increase (or surcharge) in the amount of the basic pension.

• Before 2009, the rate varies depending on the number of quarters completed.
• From 2009, each additional quarter worked increases the amount of the basic pension 1.25%.

What are the insurance quarters acquired since 1973?

This number includes contributory quarters, similar quarters (military period, sickness or maternity, disability, unemployment) and the increase in the duration of insurance for children.

The concept of contributory quarters does not depend on the actual duration of the activity, but on the amount of the contribution paid.

In case of low or deficit income, it is possible to pay a minimum basic pension contribution to acquire 3 quarters.

Quarter buybacks of old-age insurance are also possible.

What is the reference duration?

The reference period varies according to the date of birth.

Since 1^er in january 2013, craftsmen and traders benefit from a single common supplementary scheme. But the rights to supplementary pension acquired before 2013 are retained.

The supplementary pension is calculated in points. Depending on the contributions paid, a certain number of points are earned, depending on a vesting value of the point. The value of the point varies according to its nature and its date of acquisition.

Calculation mode : number of points obtained x point service value

The supplementary pension is paid in full if the pensioner has obtained his basic pension at full rate.

It is reduced if the basic pension has been obtained at a reduced rate according to coefficients of abatement specific to the supplementary scheme.

General rule

From 1^er September 2023, thelegal minimum age of retirement shall be increased to 62 years and 3 months for persons born between 1^er September 1961 and December 31 1961. It then increases by one quarter per year of birth.

The legal retirement age is 64 years for people born from 1^er January 1968.

Change in age of departure according to your date of birth

The minimum legal retirement age depends on theyear of birth of the insured.

Minimum age to enter the device of phased retirement is set to 60 years for pensions with effect from 1 September 2025.

The insured person must file his/her application 4 to 6 months before the date of retirement with the Social Security of the Self-Employed (SSI).

If he has contributed throughout his career to several schemes (employees, craftsmen, traders, farmers), this single request is enough.

If his last activity is artisanal or commercial, the pensioner must inquire with the supplementary salaried pension scheme (Agirc-Arrco type) to know at what rate this pension can be paid at the legal retirement age.

The insured must verify that all the validated quarters have been taken into account with the various plans to which he may have been affiliated.