Buyback of years of study for retirement from the public service

The redemption of years of study consists of make voluntary contributions so that your years of study in higher education are taken into account for retirement.

Study periods that can be redeemed must have been completed at one of the following institutions:

• Higher education institution
• Higher Technical School
• Grande école
• Preparatory class for a major school
• High school post-baccalaureate class.

These periods of study must have resulted in a diploma.

Admission to a major school or to a preparatory class for a major school is equivalent to obtaining a diploma.

Periods of higher education completed in a Member State ofEuropean Union can also be redeemed.

You must be at least 20 years of age and under 67 years of age on the date of your request.

You must not have applied for your retirement pension.

You can buy back from 1 to 12 quarters maximum.

You can only buy one integer number of quarters.

Any study period of 90 consecutive days is considered equal to 1 quarter.

Taking into account your years of study can not lead to validating more than 4 quarters per year.

So, for example, if you have acquired 1 quarter of pension insurance as part of a summer job during a year of study, you can buy back only 3 quarters of study for the year concerned.

You have 3 redemption options.

To understand what these 3 redemption options are, you need to understand how your retirement pension is calculated.

Your retirement pension is calculated based on 3 elements:

1. The gross index treatment that you have held for at least 6 months on the date of your retirement. If you work part-time before retirement, your pension amount is calculated based on your full-time index salary.
2. The rate of your pension fixed at 75%.
3. Your number of liquidatable pension insurance quarters in relation to the number of quarters of pension insurance required to qualify for a full pension.
   Liquidatable quarters are the quarters contributed and possibly quarters granted free of charge (called enhancements). Paid quarters are taken into account for their actual duration if you worked part-time except in cases of statutory part-time work or if you overpaid (i.e. if you paid as if you worked full-time).
   The pension is awarded at full rate if you retire before age 67 with a specified number of quarters of pension insurance (this number varies depending on your year of birth) or if you retire at age 67 (regardless of your number of quarters of retirement insurance).

Your pension is calculated as follows:

Pension = Gross index salary x 75% x (Your number of liquidable quarters / Number of quarters of pension insurance required to qualify for a full rate pension)

For example, if you were born in 1964, you must have 170 quarters of pension insurance to qualify for a full pension before age 67.

When you buy back study terms, you have the choice between the following 3 options:

• Either buy back quarters that will be taken into account for the calculating your number of pension insurance quarters
• Either buy back quarters that will be taken into account for the calculation of your number of liquidatable quarters
• Either buy back quarters that will be taken into account both for the calculation of your number of pension insurance quarters and for the calculation of your number of liquidity quarters.

Before applying for a buyback, it is advisable to simulate the cost of the buyback according to the option you choose using the following simulator:

State Pensions Service: simulator for calculating contributions for the redemption of years of study

The amount of contributions depends on:

• Your age at the date of your application
• Your gross index processing annual on the date of your application
• The option of redemption chosen.

One abatement lump sum allows you to buy back up to 4 quarters at a more advantageous rate depending on the age at which you make your redemption request. This age cannot be less than 30 years.

Depending on your public service, the process to request the redemption of your years of study differs:

If your redemption request is admissible, your pension fund will send you a buyback proposal within 4 months of receipt of your request.

The proposed buyback includes:

• The amount of the payment to be made for each quarter that can be taken into account for each of the 3 possible purchase options
• The total amount of payments to be made
• A proposal for staggered payments.

The contributions due shall be paid in one installment if they relate to the taking into account of a single quarter.

If it covers several quarters, the payment may be made in several installments up to the limit of:

• 3 years when the application covers 2 to 4 quarters
• 5 years when the application is for 5 to 8 quarters
• 7 years when the application is for 9 to 12 quarters.

From the receipt of the purchase proposal, you have a 3 months to reply.

You must specify thepurchase option chosen and if you wish to benefit from the proposed installment schedule.

The rate and the option to purchase become final from 1^er payment made within 6 months of your acceptance.

If your contributions are paid over a period of more than one year, the amount still due shall be increased each year in accordance with the consumer price index excluding tobacco.

The payments are suspended and the staggering time is extended especially during periods when you are placed in one of the following situations:

• Sick leave, long-term sick leave or long-term sick leave when you are no longer fully paid
• Family solidarity leave
• Availability
• Parental Leave
• Parental Presence Leave
• Caregiver leave.

If you do not respond to the purchase proposal or if you do not make the payment on time, you must wait at least one year before being able to make a new purchase request.

If you refuse the proposal, you can reformulate an application immediately.

You can formulate multiple redemption requests up to 12 quarters. A new application is only possible if the full amount of the contribution due in respect of the previous application has been paid.

At any time, you can decide to pay the balance of outstanding contributions in advance.

The amount of your contributions is deductible from gross taxable income.