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A growing number of retired UK public sector workers in France say they have been billed thousands of euros in unexpected social charges on their 'government' pensions, despite longstanding rules that should exempt them.

The retirees all receive UK government pensions, such as those paid to teachers, police officers and other public servants. Most retired before reaching state pension age.

Under the UK鈥揊rance Double Taxation Convention (DTC), in force since 2010, these are taxable only in the UK and do not attract French income tax and social charges.

They are declared for information in France and a tax credit cancels out any liability. Andy Pickwick, 60, a retired police officer, has set up a Facebook 鈥楪overnment pension double taxation鈥� group to bring affected people together. 

He was told the change was due to him not having an S1, a form showing that the UK or an EU country pays for a person鈥檚 French healthcare, often because they are a state pensioner.

鈥淭he tax office said you have to pay because you do not have form S1... I said we don鈥檛 need it because they are government pensions, under the DTC鈥檚 article 19.

鈥淭hey think we鈥檙e not paying for health cover anywhere,鈥� he said.

Usually, government pensioners who do not also have a state pension might have French healthcare on residency grounds, or via a specific fee if they have high investment income. 

Mr Pickwick, from Tarn-et-Garonne, and his wife, a former teaching assistant, were billed for substantial social charges on 2023 income 鈥� they challenged this but were ruled against by the tax office and a mediator. 

They moved to France in 2020 and had no issues until now. He sought advice from Alpes-Maritimes tax lawyer Laurent Gravelle, who suggested a large law firm might take on several such cases at reduced fees.

Mr Pickwick is also seeking clarification from the UK鈥檚 HMRC via a process under article 26 of the DTC known as a 'MAP'. 

This is, for example, where a person believes the action of one of the treaty states will cause undue double taxation and they ask the tax authority of the other state to check into it. If the authority finds an issue it may contact the other country's authority to seek a solution.

He said he hopes that this will "sort it out at a higher level".

Some claim the tougher stance might come from new guidance 鈥渇rom Paris鈥� but no formal policy change has been identified. 

It might instead reflect stricter interpretations in some local tax offices, with reports from several departments.

In France, pensions are normally subject to pr茅l猫vements sociaux (social charges), which help fund the social security system. 

The main ones are CRDS (0.5%) and CSG, which applies at rates from 0% to 8.3% depending on household income. 

These are separate from cotisations sociales, which are paid by workers to fund pensions and other benefits.

In a letter sent to Mr Pickwick, seen by The Connexion, a mediator argues the lack of an S1 healthcare form justified the charges, and describes the pensions as allocations de pr茅retraite 鈥� pre-retirement benefits 鈥� not covered by article 19 of the treaty.

This interpretation is unusual. 

In France, 鈥榩re-retirement benefits鈥� normally refer to allowances bridging the gap before a statutory pension begins. 

Mr Pickwick, however, had a full 30-year police career, retiring at 55, while his wife retired early from teaching. 

Both have until now been treated as government pensions, not pre-retirement benefits. 

Their tax return was made in the usual way: their pensions were placed in the 鈥榯ax credit鈥� boxes, and French income tax was annulled 鈥� but social charges were applied, seemingly due to the 'missing S1'.

French tax rules state that foreign pension income is exempt from social charges if the pensioner is not a burden on the health system.

This includes UK and EU state pensioners who hold an S1 form proving their healthcare is funded by their home country.

However, government pensions are not exempt because the person holds an S1, but due to the double taxation rules. 

Mr Pickwick said members of his group describe similar experiences: a retired teacher couple living in France for 17 years had said they had never faced issues until now. 

An 82-year-old retired naval pensioner reported being charged for the first time.

Ex-teacher Sula Corbet, 60, from Aude, fears her teacher鈥檚 pension and her husband鈥檚 local government pension could be hit. 

She previously held an S1 through part-time UK work, which also covered her husband, but this will soon end.

Her husband had an S1 as her dependent.

鈥淚t was part of our financial planning that government pensions would remain exempt,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t will make a massive difference to us if we鈥檙e charged,鈥� she said.

Retired police officer Joel Gray, 63, from Tarn-et-Garonne, is also going through mediation after his tax office started applying charges, and has also submitted a 'MAP' application to HMRC. 

鈥淭heir justification appears to be loss of our S1s in 2022 [when his wife ceased part-time work in the UK] but this should be irrelevant.

鈥淚f we lose, we will face ongoing double taxation to such an extent we have had to put our home up for sale.鈥�

Mr Gravelle said he had liaised with the mediator in Mr Pickwick鈥檚 case. 鈥�In the past I鈥檝e been able to contest social charges on government pensions, but this time there鈥檚 a block. I was told the decision 鈥榗ame from Paris鈥�.鈥�

Central tax authorities the DGFiP have so far confirmed to us the usual government pension rules, ie. that the social charges are 鈥渢reated as similar to income tax鈥� and 鈥渆xpressly mentioned鈥� by the DTC, and may be 鈥渢aken into account for the calculation of the tax credit on French tax鈥� (read their clarification in full, here).

We have also queried the 鈥榩re-retirement鈥� issue.

What are 'government pensions?

Article 19.2 of the UK/France Double Taxation Convention covers 鈥榞overnment pensions鈥� 鈥� , eg. police, armed forces, state school teachers, civil servants.

They are taxable only in the paying country, except if the recipient is solely French and retired to France from UK public service.

Article 24.3 requires France to give a tax credit cancelling any French tax, which for purposes of the treaty includes CSG and CRDS. 'Casa', introduced later, is viewed as comparable.

The France-US treaty contains similar wording, though it applies to pensions generally, not just government pensions.

What to do if charged 

Check you declared your government pension correctly: section 6 of the foreign income section, boxes 1AL/1BL of the main declaration, and box 8TK (see our ).

If exempt via an S1, ensure a copy was submitted to the tax office.

If charges were wrongly applied, submit a 谤茅肠濒补尘补迟颈辞苍 by the end of the second year after the bill. 

The simplest method is via secure messaging at impots.gouv.fr (Je signale une erreur sur le calcul de mon imp么t), .

If refused, you have two months for an appeal to court, if you wish.

You may also seek mediation via your department's tax conciliateur or a Finance Ministry mediator.

Have you also paid social charges on a UK government pension in France? Let us know at feedback@connexionfrance.com