Basic retirement of a civil servant: what difference between full and maximum rates?

Verified 01 January 2026 - Public Service / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Additional cases ?

Other case: employee

Full-rate pension and maximum-rate pension: you've heard about it, but don't know exactly what it is? We explain the difference.

As officialHowever, when you retire, you will receive a basic retirement of SRE: titleContent, if you are a public official, or CNRACL: titleContent, if you are a territorial or hospital official, and supplementary pension of the Additional Public Service Retirement (AFP).

We're talking about full rate and maximum rate for basic retirement.

The RAFP supplementary pension is a point pension, i.e. your pension contributions are converted into pension points.

And when you retire, your retirement points, accumulated during your career, are converted into a retirement pension.

For the RAFP, we are not talking about full-rate retirement or maximum-rate retirement.

But your RAFP supplementary pension is increased according to the number of years between the statutory minimum retirement age and the effective retirement age.

If you are a contractor, you receive a basic retirement Social Security Retirement Insurance, as a private sector employee, and a supplementary pension of theSupplementary pension institution for non-permanent civil servants (Ircantec).

The conditions for granting a basic pension from the full rate Social Security pension insurance are the same as for a private sector employee.

Ircantec is also a point retirement.

If you retire before the age of 67 without a full basic pension from the Pension Insurance, the amount of your Ircantec supplementary pension is reduced.

A basic full-rate pension is a pension granted without haircut.

Your basic pension is granted by the SRE or CNRACL at full rate (without discount), in particular in the following 2 cases :

  • You're retiring with one determined number of quarters of pension insurance all plans combined
  • Or you retire at an age called age of cancelation of discount, regardless of your number of quarters of pension insurance.

If you retire before the age of cancelation of the discount without having the number of quarters required to qualify for a full pension, the amount of your pension is reduced according to the number of quarters you are missing. This reduction is called the discount.

The number of quarters of pension insurance required to qualify for a full-rate pension and the age at which the discount is canceled vary depending on whether you are a public servant or a active category or sedentary and according to your year of birth.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Sedentary category official

Tableau - Sedentary Public Servant - Conditions for Granting a Full Rate Pension

You were born:

You can retire from:

Number of quarters required to have the full rate

Automatic Full Rate Age

Between 1er January 1959 and December 31, 1960

62 years

167 (41 years 9 months)

67 years

Between 1er January 1961 and August 31, 1961

62 years

168 (42 years old)

67 years

Between 1er September 1961 and December 31, 1961

62 years and 3 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

67 years

1962

62 years and 6 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

67 years

Between 1er January 1963 and March 31, 1965

62 years and 9 months

170 (42 years 6 months)

67 years

Between 1er April 1965 and December 31, 1965

63 years

171 (42 years 9 months)

67 years

1966

63 years and 3 months

172 (43 years old)

67 years

1967

63 years and 6 months

172 (43 years old)

67 years

1968

63 years and 9 months

172 (43 years old)

67 years

From 1er January 1969

64 years

172 (43 years old)

67 years

Active category official

The conditions for granting a full basic pension vary according to the active category of employment.

General case
Tableau - Active Category Public Servant - Conditions for Granting a Full Rate Retirement

You were born:

You can retire from:

Number of quarters required to have the full rate

Automatic Full Rate Age

Between 1er January 1966 and August 31, 1966

57 years

168 (42 years old)

62 years

Between 1er September 1966 and December 31, 1966

57 and 3 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

62 years

In 1967

57 years and 6 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

62 years

Between 1er January 1968 and March 31, 1970

57 years and 9 months

170 (42 years 6 months)

62 years

Between 1er April 1970 and December 31, 1970

58 years

171 (42 years 9 months)

62 years

In 1971

58 years and 3 months

172 (43 years old)

62 years

In 1972

58 years and 6 months

172 (43 years old)

62 years

In 1973

58 years and 9 months

172 (43 years old)

62 years

From 1er January 1974

59 years

172 (43 years old)

62 years

Reminder

Retirement shall be granted as an active category official provided that he has completed at least 17 years in one or more active category posts.

Since 1er January 2024, services performed as a contractor in an active category job during the 10 years preceding tenure are recognized as active services for the acquisition of early departure entitlement.

Identifier of the Institute of Forensic Medicine of the Police Prefecture of Paris, sewer
Tableau - "Unhealthy" super-active category public servant - Conditions for granting a full rate pension

You were born:

You can retire from:

Number of quarters required to have the full rate

Automatic Full Rate Age

Between 1er January 1969 and August 31, 1971

52 years

168 (42 years old)

57 years

Between 1er September 1971 and December 31, 1971

52 years and 3 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

57 years

In 1972

52 years and 6 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

57 years

Between 1er January 1973 and March 31, 1975

52 years and 9 months

170 (42 years 6 months)

57 years

Between 1er April 1975 and December 31, 1975

53 years

171 (42 years 9 months)

57 years

In 1976

53 years and 3 months

172 (43 years old)

57 years

In 1977

53 years and 6 months

172 (43 years old)

57 years

In 1978

53 years and 9 months

172 (43 years old)

57 years

From 1er January 1979

54 years

172 (43 years old)

57 years

Reminder

Retirement shall be granted as an active category official provided that he has completed:

  • At least 12 years in one or more super-active category jobs, half of which consecutively
  • 32 years of actual service.

Since 1er January 2024, services performed as a contractor in an active category job during the 10 years preceding tenure are recognized as active services for the acquisition of early departure entitlement.

Supervisory staff of the prison administration
Tableau - Superactive category official - prison administration - Conditions for granting a full pension

You were born:

You can retire from:

Number of quarters required to have the full rate

Automatic Full Rate Age

Between 1er January 1969 and August 31, 1971

52 years

168 (42 years old)

57 years

Between 1er September 1971 and December 31, 1971

52 years and 3 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

57 years

In 1972

52 years and 6 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

57 years

Between 1er January 1973 and March 31, 1975

52 years and 9 months

170 (42 years 6 months)

57 years

Between 1er April 1975 and December 31, 1975

53 years

171 (42 years 9 months)

57 years

In 1976

53 years and 3 months

172 (43 years old)

57 years

In 1977

53 years and 6 months

172 (43 years old)

57 years

In 1978

53 years and 9 months

172 (43 years old)

57 years

From 1er January 1979

54 years

172 (43 years old)

57 years

Reminder

Retirement shall be granted as an active category official provided that he has completed at least 27 years (including, where applicable, the duration of compulsory military service) in one or more active category posts.

Since 1er January 2024, services performed as a contractor in an active category job during the 10 years preceding tenure are recognized as active services for the acquisition of early departure entitlement.

Active personnel of the National Police
Tableau - National Police super-active category civil servant - Conditions for granting a full pension

You were born:

You can retire from:

Number of quarters required to have the full rate

In 1966

52 years

167 (41 years 9 months)

In 1967

52 years

167 (41 years 9 months)

In 1968

52 years

167 (41 years 9 months)

Between 1er January 1969 and August 31, 1971

52 years

168 (42 years old)

Between 1er September 1971 and December 31, 1971

52 years and 3 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

In 1972

52 years and 6 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

Between 1er January 1973 and March 31, 1975

52 years and 9 months

170 (42 years 6 months)

Between 1er April 1975 and December 31, 1975

53 years

171 (42 years 9 months)

In 1976

53 years and 3 months

172 (43 years old)

In 1977

53 years and 6 months

172 (43 years old)

In 1978

53 years and 9 months

172 (43 years old)

From 1er January 1979

54 years

172 (43 years old)

The age of the automatic full rate varies according to the body of membership:

  • 57 years for staff members of the management and application corps and the corps of command
  • 60 years for police commissioners
  • 61 years for Divisional Police Commissioners and for General Police Commissioners
  • 62 years for the posts of Comptroller-General and Inspector-General of the National Police's Active Services, Head of the National Police's Inspectorate-General and Director of the Central Administration and the Police Prefecture's Active Services.

Reminder

Retirement shall be granted as an active category official provided that he has completed at least 27 years (including, where applicable, the duration of compulsory military service) in one or more active category posts.

Since 1er January 2024, services performed as a contractor in an active category job during the 10 years preceding tenure are recognized as active services for the acquisition of early departure entitlement.

Air traffic controller
Tableau - Active Category Public Servant - Air Traffic Controllers - Conditions for Full Rate Retirement

You were born:

You can retire from:

Number of quarters required to have the full rate

Automatic Full Rate Age

In 1967

52 years

167 (41 years 9 months)

58 years 9 months

In 1968

52 years

167 (41 years 9 months)

59 years

Between 1er January 1969 and August 31, 1971

52 years

168 (42 years old)

59 years

Between 1er September 1971 and December 31, 1971

52 years and 3 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

59 years

In 1972

52 years and 6 months

169 (42 years 3 months)

59 years

Between 1er January 1973 March 31, 1975

52 years and 9 months

170 (42 years 6 months)

59 years

Between 1er April 1975 and December 31, 1975

53 years

171 (42 years 9 months)

59 years

In 1976

53 years and 3 months

172 (43 years old)

59 years

In 1977

53 years and 6 months

172 (43 years old)

59 years

In 1978

53 years and 9 months

172 (43 years old)

59 years

From 1er January 1979

54 years

172 (43 years old)

59 years

Reminder

Retirement shall be granted as an active category official provided that he has completed at least 17 years in one or more active category posts.

Since 1er January 2024, services performed as a contractor in an active category job during the 10 years preceding your tenure are recognized as active services for the acquisition of the right to early departure.

If you retire before the age of cancelation of the discount without having the number of quarters of pension insurance required to qualify for a full pension, the amount of your pension is reduced according to the number of quarters you are missing. This reduction is called the haircut.

FYI  

If you have the necessary number of quarters but are divided into different basic plans, your basic SRE or CNRACL pension is calculated based on the number of quarters you have in that plan. So are your other pensions, but you don't have a discount.

You can have a basic pension at full rate and still not have a pension at the maximum possible rate.

The amount of your basic SRE or CNRACL pension depends on your last gross index salary held for at least 6 months

But it also depends on the number of quarters of your pension insurance validated by the SRE or CNRACL and taken into account for the calculation of your pension.

The quarters used to calculate your pension are called liquidatable quarters.

For example, part-time quarters are fully taken into account for the calculation of the duration of insurance but for the calculation of the pension they are taken into account for their actual duration.

5 years completed at 80% count 5 years (20 quarters) for the calculation of your insurance term but 4 years (16 liquidatable quarters) for the calculation of your pension.

Your full pension is calculated as follows:

Last gross index treatment x 75% x Your number of quarters eligible for the SRE or the CNRACL / The number of quarters of pension insurance required to have a full rate pension

If your number of liquidatable quarters is less than your number of insurance quarters, the amount of your pension will not be the maximum possible.

Example :

If you are a sedentary public servant, born in 1964, to have a full pension, you must either have 170 quarters (42 years 6 months) all plans combined, or wait until you are 67 years old.

If you retire before the age of 67 with 170 quarters of SRE or CNRACL pension insurance, your full pension is:

Last gross index treatment x 75% x 169 / 169

You have the maximum possible rate.

If you retire at age 67 with only 165 quarters, your retirement is equal to:

Last gross index treatment x 75% x 165 / 169

Your retirement is a full-rate retirement without discount but you don't get the maximum amount you can.

You can log in to your retirement account on the official public website Retirement Info.

Whatever your situation and career path, you have an account on the Info Retraite website and you can log in and access it at any time.

On your retirement account, the service My Retirement Estimate allows you to simulate the amount of your retirement at different starting ages.

Info Retirement - My retirement account

This service offers 2 ways to get a simulation of your retirement amount. You can:

  • Either consult an estimate generated automatically from the information known to your pension funds (quick estimate)
  • Either make a personalized estimate by changing your starting age, adding missing periods and future changes (children, new status, expatriation, gradual retirement, job-retirement accumulation, etc.).

The results indicate, for each starting age, the number of quarters and the possible monthly retirement amount.

The amounts shown are gross, but it is possible to consult the net amounts before tax.

For each proposed retirement age, you can obtain the composition of your pension amount: for example, the amount of your basic pension and the amount of your supplementary pension.

You can simulate different starting ages than those offered.

If you choose to make a custom estimate, once the results are displayed, you can change elements of your past situation (for example, periods to be completed) or your future situation (for example, the evolution of your index treatment or a change in your activity rate).

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region