Faced, like all EU governments, with an ageing population (20 per cent out of a population of approximately 62 million are 60 or over), the French have drawn up a policy aimed at encouraging healthy retirement, and providing for the frail and infirm.
Life expectancy in France is 84 for women and 77 for men, which means that the percentage of over-60s will continue to rise until at least 2020, and yet only 7 per cent of men and 4 per cent of women work after the age of 60.
Sarkozy has already declared that 60 is too young to retire and that he wants people to work longer. It remains to be seen however, if he can wean the French off their addiction to early retirement. In the meantime, the government is prioritising affordable long-term care, improved social integration and increased work opportunities for seniors.
Following the scandal in 2003, when 15,000 people died during a searing heat wave, an emergency plan was drawn up to identify vulnerable people and co-ordinate care efforts across all sectors. The second result was a new agency called the Caisse Nationale de Solidarité pour l'Autonomie, (CNSA), which is designed to deal with dependency and long-term care (either at home or in institution) and which is supposed to be funded by everyone working the Whit Monday Bank Holiday. However due to lack of public support, as from 2008 Sarkozy abolished the working Whit Bank Holiday, which reverted to being a normal public bank holiday for all workers, although support for this is waning as time passes and in 2006 many people ‘went sick’ for that day.
A third innovation was the creation of new training for doctors working in geriatrics in order to double the number of specialists in the field. All of which means that retired people in France can expect good health care.
Another piece of good news is that the government positively encourages home-based care, preferring to help people stay in their own homes as long as possible by supplying financial assistance, home helps, meals on wheels, and other services rather than placing people in institutions. (70 per cent of elderly people in French residential care have Alzheimer's and most of the remainder are suffering from serious diseases and/or are over 90 years old.)
The government is also actively promoting a change of image for senior citizens, reforming employment policy to encourage progressive retirement and flexible working.
It is also working to narrow the generation gap by encouraging skill-sharing, tutoring, volunteering, and multi-generational projects creating suitable work for older and younger people in a wide range of employment.
An interesting development is integrated housing where young parents with children, disabled elderly and healthy retired people are all housed in the same complexes, and early results show that this can lead to closer relationships between the generations.
Getting into the French health system as a British person in receipt of a pension from the UK is straightforward. You get a form E121 from the Department for Work and Pensions in Newcastle (DWP Newcastle) and submit it to your local CPAM office in France. CPAM is the Caisse Primaire d'Assurance de Maladie – the main French health insurance agency. Even if only one person in a couple has an E121, both people will be covered.
You are also allowed to have your pension paid into a French bank account. For more information on exportable benefits (ie the British social security payments that you are allowed to receive while living somewhere else in the EU) see the DWP in Newcastle.
Like the French, you will have to pay your medical expenses and then claim a proportion back. If you want to get 100 per cent back, you'll need top-up health insurance (a mutuelle) which you can buy from a private health insurance company. If you are on a low income (under around 600 euros a month for a couple), you may be able to apply for CMU-C, which is a free/government-subsidised mutuelle.
If you are retired, but haven't yet got your pension, you should ask for a form E106 before leaving the UK. This will only last for two years however, so if you are still below pension age when it runs out, you may need private health insurance. Once you're in France and have these basics sorted out, you will find plenty to keep you busy.
The Université of the Troisième Age (U3A) is a French invention which is rapidly spreading worldwide. The idea is to make education available to retired people, whatever their previous academic achievements (ie no qualifying requirements like the bac, or a degree, or A levels) so that anyone over 60 can take a course and learn something new.
There are centres all over France from Lille in the north to Toulouse in the south, although of course there is a thick concentration of them around Paris (see fact file). Check all paperwork carefully including tax forms as there are various interesting tax breaks and exemptions for senior citizens in France – such as not having to pay your television license (116 euros a year) once you're over 75. The local mairie can give information on local organisations aimed at senior citizens: social clubs, charity organisations and (this is France) dining clubs.
If you have property in France, check your status very carefully in terms of wills and inheritance as French law differs substantially from UK law. Sarkozy is however changing these laws now so that, for example, a surviving spouse no longer has to pay inheritance tax on his/her deceased spouse's share of the marital home. Inheritance however, and who you can and cannot disinherit is complicated and if your family set-up is complicated, could be a minefield. So find a specialist lawyer to make sure that all inheritance issues are in order.