The retirement pension of a nursing assistant primarily depends on their status, public or private, and the length of their career. The calculation rules differ according to the affiliated fund, and the amounts vary significantly from one profile to another.
Ségur index treatment supplement and nursing assistants’ pensions
A recent element modifies the calculation of retirement for nursing assistants in the public hospital service: the index treatment supplement (CTS), stemming from the Ségur de la santé agreements. This bonus, integrated into the remuneration index, is included in the calculation base for pensions for civil servants affiliated with the CNRACL.
Specifically, the CTS increases the gross index treatment on which the pension is calculated. For a nursing assistant who has spent their entire career in the public sector, this integration results in a direct increase in the average retirement amount for nursing assistants compared to previous generations.
Nursing assistants in the private sector do not benefit from this mechanism. Their pension is based on the general scheme (CNAV), where bonuses and supplements are not accounted for in the same way.
Pension calculation according to the scheme: CNRACL or general scheme
The majority of nursing assistants work in the public hospital service (FPH). As civil servants, they contribute to the CNRACL. Nursing assistants employed in the private sector (clinics, private EHPADs) fall under the general scheme of Social Security and Agirc-Arrco for supplementary pensions.
Pension in the public sector: gross index treatment
In the FPH, the basic pension is calculated based on the gross index treatment of the last six months of activity. Standard bonuses (night work, Sundays, public holidays) are not included in this calculation, except for the CTS mentioned above.
The formula applied is as follows: index treatment multiplied by the liquidation rate, which is determined by the number of validated quarters. A full career entitles one to a rate of 75%. Each missing quarter results in a reduction that permanently decreases the pension.
Pension in the private sector: average annual salary
For nursing assistants in the private sector, the basic pension depends on the average annual salary calculated over the 25 best years of their career. The full rate is 50% of this average salary. The Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension is added, calculated in points accrued throughout the career.
Since private sector salaries are often close to the minimum wage at the beginning of a career, the average annual salary remains modest. The total pension (base + supplementary) of a private nursing assistant is generally lower than that of a public counterpart with an equivalent career length.
Early retirement in active category: the condition of 17 years of service
Nursing assistants in the FPH benefit from classification in the active category, which recognizes the hardship of their profession. This classification grants the right to early retirement before the legal age of 64 set by the 2023 reform.
The main condition is to have completed at least 17 years of service in the active category. In this case, retirement is possible as early as 59 years old. Below this threshold, the retirement age gradually rises to 64 years.
- 17 years or more of active service: retirement possible at 59, with a sufficient number of quarters to avoid reduction
- Less than 17 years of active service: the retirement age approaches the standard legal age, which reduces the advantage associated with the active category
- Mixed public/private career: each period is subject to its own rules, and the career statement may contain errors that need to be verified with each fund
This mechanism has a direct impact on the amount of the pension. Retiring at 59 without the required number of quarters for the full rate results in a reduction. Delaying retirement by a few quarters can, conversely, generate a bonus that increases the pension.
Bonus for the tenth and additional quarters in the FPH
A specific provision for the public hospital service allows nursing assistants to acquire additional quarters: the insurance duration increase known as the tenth. For each period of ten years of effective service in the active category, a bonus of quarters is added to the insurance duration.
These additional quarters do not change the reference treatment, but they reduce or eliminate the reduction. For a nursing assistant who has worked more than 30 years in a hospital setting, this increase can represent several bonus quarters, significantly improving the liquidation rate of the pension.
This mechanism does not exist in the private sector. Nursing assistants in clinics or private EHPADs can, however, accumulate points on their professional prevention account (C2P) if their exposure to certain hardship factors is documented, but the benefit in quarters remains more limited.
Factors that affect a nursing assistant’s pension
Beyond the affiliated scheme, several concrete elements affect the final amount of the retirement:
- Career length: extended part-time work reduces the number of contributed quarters and the reference treatment
- Career interruptions (parental leave, availability): they decrease the insurance duration without always being compensated
- Grade reached at the end of the career: a senior nursing assistant has a higher terminal index than a normal class nursing assistant
- Choice of retirement date: a few months’ delay can eliminate a reduction or activate a bonus
The net pension of a nursing assistant remains among the lowest in the health sector, whether in the public or private sector. The low level of remuneration at the beginning and middle of the career mechanically weighs on the final calculation, regardless of the scheme. Checking one’s career statement several years before the planned retirement date remains the most useful action to avoid unpleasant surprises.
