RSA. The active solidarity income could be allocated in return for a minimum of activity. How it works ? Why such reform? We tell you everything.
[Updated May 19, 2022 at 9:39 a.m.] The highly controversial reform of the RSA (in particular by the opposition on the side of the Insoumis and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, described as voluntary) should come into force by the summer . To sum up, the payment of the RSA should be conditional on a minimum of activity on the part of the beneficiaries. A “duty” as Olivier Dussopt, Minister in charge of Public Accounts, had declared. Also a way for the executive to promote the return to employment, and easier reintegration for a caste of the population that is sometimes at a loss. To achieve this, several avenues have been discussed but nothing has yet been decided. The most probable would be to ask the beneficiaries of the RSA to carry out a training course of 20 hours per week. CV preparation workshops, immersions in companies or local communities are just as plausible proposals. Emmanuel Macron intends, with this rather unexpected reform a few weeks ago, to move towards full employment, the flagship objective of his second five-year term.
And it is another fairly substantial change that the payment and the system of social assistance in France are about to experience under this second five-year term of Emmanuel Macron. Indeed, the Head of State first wishes to set up the payment at source, in a way the opposite of the withholding tax. In other words, a system in which the State pays the taxpayer what he owes him, a sort of one-stop shop in order to reduce the number of intermediaries and tedious procedures. The current head of state also wants to gradually introduce a universal activity income (RUA). Still in his logic of simplifying social assistance, an approach he had already mentioned in 2018. The automatic payment at source of social benefits could precisely be the first stone in the building of this reform. This potential reform is still only at the reflection stage, in particular concerning the individualization of the measure or the possibility of applying it to the entire tax household.
Emmanuel Macron wants the RSA to be conditional on a consideration. In this case, a minimum activity qualified as a “duty” by Olivier Dussopt, Minister in charge of Public Accounts. The goal? achieve full employment. A formula hammered out by the LREM camp, and in particular its president Christophe Castaner at the microphone of RMC on March 21: We must provide the means for emancipation. The idea is to revive integration to achieve full employment.” The RSA, the amount of which reaches 565.34 euros in France, is based on a logic of “rights and duties” according to Gabriel Attal. An idea based on the system the youth engagement contract which makes it possible to support young people far from employment with training, work-study programs and simulations. A system subject to conditions of resources, attendance, and acceptance of the offers of activity made. The Government also assures that the situation of beneficiaries could be studied on a case-by-case basis, meaning that a single mother with three dependent children, for example, could benefit from different treatment than a young person looking for a job. .
The active solidarity income (RSA) represents a minimum income for people who do not work. It is a social and professional support system to facilitate access to employment or consolidate certain professional capacities when one does not derive, or few resources from his activity. This RSA is based on a simple system of rights and duties. The right to a minimum income or to an income supplement first. Then, the duty to look for a job, or to self-undertake actions in favor of his reintegration. The RSA is open, under certain conditions, to people aged at least 25 and to young workers aged 18 to 24 if they are single parents or have a certain period of professional activity. You do not have to declare the active solidarity income, it is not taxable.
Several associations have been calling for more advantageous conditions for several months now, especially for young workers. As an indication, the RSA can concern young workers – we then speak of young RSA for those under 25 -, but they must justify a certain period of professional activity, excluding internships. This is why so many young people find themselves de facto excluded. The government, for its part, preferred to review the universal young guarantee, baptizing it young contract of engagement.
In fact, the family allowance fund (CAF) takes into account the resources of your household as well as a lump sum which varies according to the composition of your household and the number of dependent children. You live alone ? In this case, the fixed amount of the RSA reached 565.34 euros at the beginning of the year and has been revalued following inflation with an amount of 575.52 since May. Are you currently in a relationship or single parent? Here are the fixed amounts of the RSA – the one that will therefore serve as the basis for calculating family allowances, it is not the final amount – since April 1:
Regarding the income taken into account by CAF, it studies the resources received over the last three months and then establishes an average. What resources are considered? Keep in mind that unemployment benefits, social security daily allowances, housing allowances and family benefits are taken into account, among others. The family allowance fund has thus established a housing package according to the number of people in your household:
Inevitably, this housing package reduces the amount of social benefit.
To obtain these social benefits, you have three possibilities: at your request by Internet on the CAF website, fill out a form with your family allowance fund or the CCAS for example, or send the form by mail corresponding to your checkout. Cerfa form number 15481 is available here. Wondering what parts to provide? Here is the list :
Find all the documents to be provided on page seven of the Cerfa form.
The Family Allowance Fund has made a simulator available to users on its website, at the following address: http://www.caf.fr/allocataires/mes-services-en-ligne/faire-une-simulation. If you are already receiving a family allowance from the CAF, you are invited to connect to your personal space using your beneficiary number. If not, you have the option of using a simulator. Keep in mind that you will need to have several pieces of information beforehand (number of people in the household, resources for the last 3 months, etc.).
You must reside in France in a stable, effective manner and be at least 25 years old. Pupils, students and unpaid trainees are not eligible for the RSA. Single parents are an exception. The RSA also cannot concern people on parental leave, unpaid leave or sabbatical leave. You are not of French nationality? In this case, you must meet a number of residence conditions.
If you are European, you must hold a right of residence in France and have been living for at least three months when you apply or have a declared job in France and be either unemployed, on sick leave, or in training professional. If you are not European, you must have a residence permit allowing you to work in France for at least five years, or hold a residence permit or have refugee status or be recognized as stateless.
This system refers to the active solidarity income intended for single parents. A single parent is a single, divorced, separated or widowed person who has dependent children. The lump sum is increased when you declare a pregnancy or the birth of a child or the care of a child or a separation. The increase cannot last longer than 12 months.
Until 2016, the RSA existed in two different forms. The basic RSA and the activity RSA. Since 2016, the activity RSA has been replaced by the activity bonus. Regarding the RSA base, it is maintained until 2022. On April 1, 2021, the fixed amount of the RSA base was 565.34 euros.
To have this basic RSA, it is necessary to have no resources, or very few. As a self-employed person or part-time worker, it is impossible to benefit from the RSA base. People who do not exercise any activity or who are no longer entitled to unemployment are, for example, eligible. Here are the conditions to access it:
Who is affected by Youth RSA?
Young people under the age of 25 cannot receive the active solidarity income. However, there is an RSA scheme reserved for young workers, the young RSA. A young person aged 18 to 25 who can prove a certain length of professional activity (salaried activity or not, hour of activity accomplished during a period of unemployment, activity accomplished under a voluntary contract in the army) can perceive it. As with the classic RSA, you must reside in France in a stable and effective manner. Please note that periods of compensated unemployment and internships are not considered in the eyes of the CAF as periods of activity.
The calculation formula is identical to that of the so-called classic active solidarity income. The request for RSA young worker cannot be made online on the CAF website. You must do this either directly with your CAF on site, or by post. As a young worker, you must send two forms: form n°15481 (or n°15482 if you are self-employed) and cerfa n°14130.
The reference period is the quarter preceding receipt of the RSA. When your file will be reviewed, you will receive a notification of award for a period of three months. You must therefore declare your resources each quarter to the CAF. The RSA is paid from the 1st day of the month in which you submitted your claim. Its payment is monthly, in arrears by your CAF for a period of three months, validated by the CAF.
When your household resources are less than 500 euros per month, you must meet a job search obligation. The obligations are listed in your personalized plan for access to employment that you have drawn up with your employment center adviser. As a reminder, it is not possible to refuse more than two reasonable job offers.
The CAF lists three situations in which the active solidarity income can be suspended. Here are the details:
Bear in mind that the CAF is entitled to claim RSA allowances paid and to which you were not entitled for two years.
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