The French government on Monday unveiled a wide-ranging plan to combat social fraud and tighten residence conditions for entitlement to social benefits, a measure aimed in particular at pensioners living abroad.
Three weeks after a plan focusing on tax fraud, the government wants to “tighten up” the conditions of residence in France “for receiving social benefits,” the minister in charge of public accounts, Gabriel Attal, said in an interview with Le Parisien newspaper.
From now on, beneficiaries will need to spend nine months of the year in the country, up from six at present, to qualify for family allowances or the minimum old-age pension, the minister said.
France also wants to focus on pensioners living outside the EU to better identify those who have died but for whom benefits continue to be paid out.
The minister pointed out that more than one million pensions were paid abroad, half of them outside Europe, and 300.000 in Algeria.
“Social fraud, like tax fraud, is a form of hidden tax on working French people,” Attal said.
Fraud on social benefits alone is estimated at €6 billion to €8 billion a year, according to the French Court of Auditors. Adjustments have already risen by 35% over the past five years.
The minister promised the creation of 1,000 additional posts dedicated to enforcing the new regulations during the government’s five-year term, and the investment of €1 billion in information systems.
