Véronique will be 67 in a few months. This young retiree, originally from the North, started working at the age of 23 following the end of her BTS in sales management, a career spanning 44 years.

“It was after responding to a classified ad for a private technological high school that I was hired as a private teaching assistant” (now part-time/contractual editor’s note), she remembers with nostalgia. Her contract, which was initially precarious, was then made permanent “indefinitely” after five years after a so-called “validating” inspection, specifies the sixty-year-old. She then taught as a contract teacher for 25 years in technological 2nd grades in private high schools in the north of France.

Result: his status and his salary scale were modeled on the public service, but his contract was under private law. This had a significant impact on his retirement: calculations in private law are made over the best 25 years and not the last six months, as is the case for the public. 

Special status, which also prevents him for years from advancing in his career as quickly as civil servants doing the same work in the public sector. Véronique therefore took some internal competitions in order to boost her progress a little; but no competition to become a civil servant, because in that case, she would have started from the lowest rung!  “Because there is no bridge between private and public…”, specifies the former professor. “Quite a “funny” thing because I have always been an employee of National Education,” she jokes in hindsight.

Action by the unions, which led to the Censi Law, fortunately allowed temporary workers to over-contribute for 7 or 8 years.  “It was very beneficial for my retirement, because it now gives me the right to a kind of additional retirement,” returns the former professor.

A welcome achievement in preparing for retirement, but did not necessarily allow him to save enough…

“At the end of my career, my salary was between 3,000 and 3,200 euros net monthly,” she explains. The young retiree now receives, including supplement, 2,500 euros net monthly; i.e. a replacement rate close to 78%.

Unfortunately, and given her relatively high retirement level, she is not eligible for aid favoring low pensions. Which she sometimes really needs, she tells us. : “Despite my retirement from teaching, I am not specifically “comfortable” financially.”, 

Especially since her family life as a divorced mother did not allow her to set up specific savings for retirement.  I wasn’t particularly aware of that at the time,” she regrets.

A situation which does not allow him to live without completely worrying about his expenses, despite a small inheritance.

Family inheritances allowed her to inherit a small real estate asset which she maintains and rents, but it does not compensate for the drop in income caused by retirement.” The properties are located in a professionally disadvantaged and deindustrialized area, this which makes rentals unprofitable and property valuations low.”, she explains.

The retirement age: 64 in September 2021, will still have allowed him to benefit from a welcome 10% bonus, introduced by the Fillon law in 2003.