French Minister of Public Accounts Gabriel Attal unveiled last week his plan to combat social security fraud which he defines as money earned by immigrants via active solidarity income (RSA) and sent to their countries of birth, according to “le Parisien.”
In late April, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire vowed to act against those who send RSA aid to their home countries.
According to the Court of Audit, it represents between 6 and 8 billion euros per year, while the State’s efforts result in the recovery of only 1.6 billion each year of that amount.
The declared goal is to double the number of tax reassessments by 2027 to refund 3 billion euros to the state coffers. To combat the alleged fraud, the French government aims to combine identity and Vitale cards.
This should be complemented by the creation of 1,000 new positions devoted to preventing social fraud, as well as a one-billion-euro investment in information technology.
Attal wants to additionally “reinforce” the requirements for obtaining social assistance in France. To be eligible for household expenses or the minimum old-age pension, individuals must now spend nine months of the year in the country, as compared to six months today.
The same holds true regarding housing benefits, which today require only eight months of residency. The government also wants social assistance organizations to be permitted to review airline passenger records for suspected fraud.
According to research issued by the National Old Age Insurance Fund (CNAV), more than one million retirees resided abroad in 2022 (Europe 47% and Africa 42%). This accounts for around 7.2% of the pension system’s 15 million beneficiaries.
The general system provides a monthly pension of 300 euros on average to retirees living abroad.