What is the retirement amount for a lawyer at the end of their career?

Summary

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• 1 CNBF, lawyers, retirement… What future?
  • • 1.0.1 The FCNB and mandatory schemes
    • 1.0.2 DO YOU WANT INDIVIDUALITY?
  • 1.1 The different retirement schemes for lawyers and how they work
    • 1.1.1 The lower part of the basic scheme
      • 1.1.1.1 What are the contributions of lawyers?
      • 1.1.1.2 Under what conditions can one retire?
      • 1.1.1.3 What is the basic retirement pension?
      • 1.1.1.4 1st case: contribution for the required duration for a full pension
      • 1.1.1.5 2nd case: retirement after January 1, 2017
      • 1.1.1.6 3rd case: retirement after January 1, 2017
      • 1.1.1.7 4th case: retirement: before January 1, 2017
    • • 1.1.2 1.2.1 What happens if you work more than the legal insurance term?
    • 1.1.3 How does the complementary legal system work?
      • 1.1.3.1 Contributions
      • 1.1.3.2

    Pension

    • 1.1.4 What pension in case of death?
    • 1.1.5 Can an activity continue after retirement?
  • 1.2 THE PRESS SPEAK!

FNB, lawyers, retirement… what future? The FCNB and mandatory schemes

Every lawyer, freelance or salaried, depends on a common organization, the Caisse Nationale du Barreau Français. Founded in 1984, the FCNB was previously part of the Caisse nationale d’assurance retraite pour les professions libérales (CNVPL) until 1954, when it became independent. Now managing two mandatory schemes for lawyers, the basic scheme and the supplementary scheme, this fund has nearly 64,000 contributors for 15,000 beneficiaries.

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The different retirement schemes for lawyers and how they work

• The underside of the basic feeding

What are the fees for lawyers?

All lawyers contribute to the basic scheme of the FCNB in three forms:

• Argumentation fees or equivalent contribution: For each argumentation, the lawyer pays a fee to the fund that must cover 1/3 of the costs of the scheme. At the end of the year, if the total of these fees is less than the expected amount, the lawyer or the firm pays the difference. This is the “equivalent contribution”.
• Flat-rate contribution: This contribution varies based on seniority. It is worth noting that pregnant women are exempt from the year of childbirth.

Table of flat-rate contributions for 2017:

€

1st year	278 €
2nd year	558 €
3rd year	876
4th and 5th year	1,194€
From the 6th year and regardless of age	1,525 €

• A contribution indexed to the income of year N-2: This contribution corresponds to 3.1% of the income of the penultimate year, up to a limit of 291,718€. For lawyers with less than 2 years of practice, a flat amount is set at 231€ for those registered in 2016 and 328€ for those registered in 2017.

For salaried lawyers, contributions are paid 40% by the employee and 60% by the employer.

Lawyers can buy back contribution periods under the same conditions as for the general scheme.

Under what conditions can one retire?

The FCNB essentially joins the general scheme:

• Minimum age: between 60 and 62 years after the year of birth (62 years if you were born in 1955 or later).
• Contribution duration: You must have contributed between 160 and 172 quarters depending on your year of birth to receive a full pension. Supplements for children and disabled children apply.
• Age at which retirement is at full rate, regardless of the contribution period: between 65 and 67 years after the year of birth (67 years if you were born in 1955 or later).

What is the basic retirement pension?

Unlike the general scheme or that of self-employed workers, the pension is a lump sum that decreases or increases based on the number of years of contribution. In 2017 and for a career as a lawyer, this amount is 16,664€.

Since January 1, 2017, the calculation of the lump-sum pension has become proportional to the number of quarters. Previously, the amount of the pension for work hours of less than 15 years was significantly reduced.

Once you have reached the minimum retirement age, there are four cases:

1st case: contribution for the required duration for a full pension

In this case, you will receive 16,664€ in retirement.

2nd case: Retirement after January 1, 2017

Contributions: less than the required duration of the FCNB, but sufficient for all combined schemes (between 160 and 172 quarters).

In this case, your retirement from the FCNB will be proportional to the number of quarters contributed to the scheme.

Example: You were born in January 1953 and retired in February 2017, after having contributed 100 quarters as a lawyer and 65 quarters to the General Employee Scheme. You will receive from the CNBF an annual base pension of 16,664€ x 100/165 = 10,099€. The general scheme will pay you another pension corresponding to your years of contribution as an employee, calculated based on your income during those years.

3rd case: Retirement: After January 1, 2017

Contributions: Less than the required duration of the FCNB and less than all combined schemes

In this case, the pension is first calculated pro-rata; but it will also be reduced by 1.25% for each missing quarter to reach either the required contribution period or the full retirement age without condition (between 65 and 67 years — the most appropriate figure for you).

Example: You were born in January 1954 and retired in February 2017. You contributed 110 quarters to the FCNB and 45 for a total of 155 quarters. You need 10 quarters to reach the required contribution period, which is 165 quarters for your age group (you need 14 quarters to reach 66 years and 7 months, so 10, which is more favorable). Your pension from the FNB, proportional to your years of contribution as a lawyer, should amount to 16,664 x 110/165 = 11,109€. This amount will be reduced by 10 x 1.25% = 12.5%, or 11,109 — 1389 = 9,720€. Additionally, you will receive a pension from the self-employed workers’ scheme corresponding to the 45 quarters worked under that scheme.

4th case: Retirement: before January 1, 2017

Contribution: less than 60 quarters to the FCNB

Your pension is then calculated based on the Allocation to former employees (AVTS), which amounts to 3,383.32€ per year since April 1, 2016. 59 quarters give you the right to the full benefit; below that, it is calculated proportionally to your contribution period.

If it turns out that you have not contributed, across all combined schemes, enough quarters to benefit from the full rate (still 160 to 172 depending on the year of birth), this amount will also be reduced under the same conditions as for the third case: 1.25% for each missing quarter to reach the full rate.8217; age of full rate or required contribution duration.

Example: You retired before January 1, 2017. You contributed 44 quarters as a lawyer, and the rest of your career with other schemes. For these quarters, you receive a pension of 3,323.32 x 44/60 = 2,481.10€ per year. (If you retired after January 1, 2017, you would receive (if you were born, for example, in 1954); 16,664 x 44/165 = 4,443.73€ for the year.) If you miss 10 quarters to reach adulthood (66 years and 7 months for your generation, 1954), and more to reach your 165 quarters, your pension will be reduced by 1.25% x 10 = 12.5%. In 2017, you will only receive 2,481.10 — 310.14 = 2,171€ for the year.

What happens if you work more than the legal duration of insurance?

Conversely, if you decide to continue working longer than the legal insurance period (160 to 172 quarters), your pension will be increased by 1.25% for each additional quarter, for quarters completed after July 1, 2010 (quarters completed before this date, but after January 1, 2004, assess the pension at 0.75%).

• How does the complementary legal system work?

The complementary scheme for lawyers is a points scheme whose rules were reformed on January 1, 2015.

Contributions

Before 2015, there were two mandatory contributions and one optional.

Since then, the lawyers’ scheme has entered a 14-year transition phase. In 2017, lawyers must choose between 5 categories of contributions. By 2029, there will be a gradual shift to a single class, which will be aligned with the currently highest class. We will move to 4 classes in 2018, 3 classes in 2021, 2 classes in 2025, and 1 in 2029. There are 5 brackets for each of these classes defined according to a specific ceiling, distinct from the social security ceiling (it is slightly higher). A change of category is possible each year, provided that the lawyer submits their request before January 31 of the contribution year if they are self-employed, before January 1 if they are employed. A flat rate is set for the first two years (253€ if they are registered at the bar in 2017, 360 if they are registered in 2016). Attached are the contribution categories and rates for 2017

	1 to 41,674€	41,675 to 83,348€	83,349 to 125,022€	125,023 to 166,696€	166,697 to 208,370€
C1	3.40%	6.80%	7.70%	8.60%	9.50%
C2	4.05	8%%	9.20%	10.40%	11.60%
C3	4.70%	9.20%	10.70%	12.20%	13.70%
C4	5.35%	10.40%	12.20%	14%	15.80%
C5	6%	11.60%	13.70%	15.80%	17.90%

For a lawyer participating in class 5, it is possible to contribute 2.50% more than the highest class, i.e., 20.40%. The conversion of the contribution into points is as follows: 9,2435€ in 2017.

Specific cases:

• It is possible, upon request, to contribute based on the income of the previous year or an estimate of the income of the current year.
• Lawyers who worked before 1979 (the date of introduction of the scheme) are entitled to free points (120 points per year, up to a maximum of 3,000 points, plus points corresponding to the second income bracket) or points corresponding to their period of work prior to that date

The pension

The value of the complementary pension is calculated as follows:

Number of points * value of point

The same rules as the basic scheme apply. If you have not contributed the legal insurance period for all combined schemes (160 to 172 quarters), your complementary pension will be reduced (1.25% for each missing quarter to reach the legal duration or 65-67 years, depending on the year of birth).

If you total less than 500 points at retirement, the FCNB may pay you capital for the buyback of these points.

• What pension in case of death?

The surviving spouse of a deceased lawyer is entitled to a survivor’s pension equal to:

• Half of the base pension to which the deceased lawyer would have been entitled, or that he would have received if he had retired. A minimum of five years of marriage is required to benefit from this pension, or a child must have been born from the union. On the other hand, no age requirement is needed.
• 60% of the complementary pension under certain conditions:

• • ♦ Being at least 50 years old
  • ♦ Having been married for five years

These two conditions disappear if there are children under 21 years old (or 25 years old if they are studying) born from the marriage.

If the surviving spouse remarries, they lose their right to a survivor’s pension (both base and complementary), which is then paid to the minor children. If there are multiple surviving spouses who are not remarried, the survivor’s pension is shared among them.

The orphans of a lawyer who dies during their work receive a pension equal to 25% of the base pension and 25% of the complementary pension that the deceased would have received. This pension is paid to them until they reach the age of 21 or 25 if they continue their studies.

• Can we continue an activity after retirement?

According to the rules of combining employment and retirement, it is only possible to resume an activity after a lawyer’s retirement if it falls under another scheme

In order to resume the activity of a lawyer, however, you must have paid all your retirement pensions and meet the age (60 to 62 years) and insurance duration (160 to 166 quarters) conditions necessary to obtain the full rate; or you must have reached the age that cancels the condition of insurance duration (65 to 67 years). Otherwise, all retirement pensions are suspended.

THE PRESS SPEAK!

Agora Finance was named Best Wealth Management Firm in 2015, 2016, and 2017 by the magazine Les Décideurs

Tag : Retirement for lawyers