The measure has been strongly demanded by associations for many years. After four years of opposition from the majority, it will finally see the light of day with the bill on purchasing power, discussed this week in the National Assembly. Announced by Elisabeth Borne in her general policy speech, the deconjugalization of the allowance for disabled adults is in agreement with many deputies. They voted, Wednesday evening, unanimously minus one vote in favor of this measure. “It’s a huge relief, because it’s a historic fight that we’ve been fighting for almost 20 years”, comments to L’Express Pascale Ribes, president of the APF France handicap association.
Created in 1975, the AAH is intended to compensate for the inability to work. Problem: the income of the spouse of the disabled person who is totally or partially unable to work is taken into account in the calculation of the AAH. This state aid, which amounts to 919.86 euros per month at the full rate, is regulated according to medical and social criteria. A disabled person in a couple can thus see the amount of this aid reduced if their spouse earns more than 1,020 euros net per month. And from 2,270 euros net, the AAH can be completely eliminated.
An “extremely unfair” mechanism that associations have been denouncing for many years. “It’s a mechanism from the last century, tackle Pascale Ribes. This system is an aberration. We keep the person with a disability under financial supervision”. Once voted, the deconjugalization of the AAH should therefore allow a certain financial autonomy to the beneficiaries. But Pascale Ribes does not want to rejoice too quickly. “Not until the amendment is not definitively voted on”.
Because if the deputies like the government agreed on this deconjugalization of the AAH, the majority made it known that it would not be put in place immediately. This was said by the president of the Renaissance parliamentary group in the Assembly, Aurore Bergé, this Monday, July 18 during an interview on the set of BFMTV. The application of the individualization of the AAH is impossible “before October 2023, because it is necessary to look at personal situations, individual by individual, family by family”.
The government fears that there will be losers in the context of this new calculation, in particular on the side of disabled people who work but whose spouse is unemployed. Today, the unemployment of the latter counts in the allocation of the AAH, which allows the disabled person, in addition to his salary, to receive almost all of the aid. “Tomorrow with deconjugalization, the spouse would no longer count in this kind of situation”, explains Pascale Ribes who does not however understand such a late implementation.
And for good reason, the fight for deconjugalization has been going on for two decades. “The solution to this problem has already been found by a parliamentary report in 2021”, assures the president of the APF France handicap. Indeed, Senator (LR) Philippe Mouiller and MP Jeanine Dubié (Freedoms and Territories) proposed a right of option to avoid these negative effects on certain households in which a member is a beneficiary of the AAH. “This means that if you are ever a loser in the assessment of your rights, you can exercise an option right which allows the AAH to be maintained under the old regime”, adds Pascale Ribes. According to the government, 45,000 households would be in this situation.
