Chapter IX: Family benefits Chapter IX: Family benefits
Applicable statutory basisSocial Security Code (Code de la sécurité sociale), Book V.
Law No. 96-604 of 5 July 1996.
Family allowances1st and 2nd child.
Family allowances from the 2nd child.
Child resident in France.
Normal: 20 years with the reservation that the income does not exceed 55% of the minimum wage (SMIC).
1st child: See "APJE".
2 children: FRF 687 (EUR 105)
3 children: FRF 1,567 (EUR 239)
4 children: FRF 2,447 (EUR 373)
5 children: FRF 3,328 (EUR 507)
6 children: FRF 4,208 (EUR 642)
Each subsequent child: FRF 880 (EUR 134).
No variation according to income.
Supplements varying with age:
Child over 11 years: FRF 193 (EUR 29)
Child over 16 years: FRF 343 (EUR 52)
Except the 1st child in families with less than 3 children.
Other benefitsAllowance for young child (allocation pour jeune enfant, APJE): FRF 986 (EUR 150) per month per child. Paid with means test as from 4th month of pregnancy to 3 years of age.
Adoption allowance (allocation d'adoption):
FRF 986 (EUR 150) per month but paid upon arrival of an adopted child in the family. It is paid out according to a means test and for no longer than 21 months.
Allowance for single parent (Allocation de parent isolé, API): Guarantee of minimum family income for single persons with at least 1 child or in case of pregnancy without other dependant children. Monthly amount: FRF 3,220 (EUR 491) plus FRF 1,073 (EUR 164) per child. The allowance is equal to the difference between this amount and the beneficiary's income.
Family support allowance (allocation de soutien familial): Children who are not acknowledged by either parent or whose father or mother do not fulfil the obligation to pay maintenance, based on income. Refer to Table IX "Family benefits", special cases, 3.
Special education allowance (allocation d'éducation spéciale) for persons with a 50% or more handicap, up to 20 years: FRF 687 (EUR 105) per month. The payment is not subject to a means test.
Supplement for children with an incapacity degree of 80% or 50 - 80% when taken into care by a specialised institution:
1st category: Impermanent attendance of another person or expenses according to the amount of the supplement: FRF 515 (EUR 79);
2nd category: Constant attendance by another person or expenses according to the amount of the supplement: FRF 1,546 (EUR 236);
3rd category: Severely disabled in need of continuous and highly qualified assistance, when the only alternative to domiciliary care is a full-time hospital permanence FRF 5,726 (EUR 873). The payment of the allowance requires the suspense of working-activities of one parent or the need of a third person.
Housing allowance (allocation de logement): Allowances for those receiving one of the various forms of family allowances: The allowance is calculated taking into account the expenses for rent (within the upper limit), the family's situation and the beneficiary's resources. It can be increased for beneficiaries with low incomes.
Allowance at beginning of the school year (allocation de rentrée scolaire) for children aged 6 - 18: FRF 426 (EUR 65); payable in lump sum with means test.
Parental leave allowance (allocation parentale d'éducation, APE): Allowance is given to parents totally or partly interrupting employment for educating a child under 3 years and having care of at least 2 children. Total amount: FRF 3,061 (EUR 467).Partial amounts: FRF 2,024 (EUR 309) if the part-time activity does not make up more than 50% of the legal working time; FRF 1,530 (EUR 233) if the activity amounts between 50% and 80% of the working time.
Family supplement (complément familial) with means test: FRF 894 (EUR 136) for families having at least 3 children over 3 years.
Employment aids:
Allowance for childcare at home (allocation de garde d'enfant à domicile AGED) is paid if the child concerned is under the age of 3 years. The maximum allowance amounts to 75% of social contributions, that is to say FRF 9,733 (EUR 1,484) maximum per quarter on the condition that family income does not exceed net FRF 218,376 (EUR 33,291) per year whatever the composition of the family. For families whose means exceed this threshold, the maximum amount is set at FRF 6,489 (EUR 989). For children aged between 3 and 6 years, it amounts to FRF 3,244 (EUR 495) per quarter.
Benefit for families employing an approved maternal assistant (aide à la famille pour l'emploi d'une assistante maternelle agréée AFEAMA): if the child is less than 6 years old all social costs will be paid provided the gross salary does not exceed 5 times the hourly guaranteed minimum wage (SMIC) per child per day.
AFEAMA cash increase for care of children less than 3 years: FRF 826 (EUR 126); for children over 3 years: FRF 413 (EUR 63) per quarter.
Special casesNormal family benefits.
Recipients of pensions are entitled to family allowances.
Allowance of family support (allocation de soutien familial):
FRF 644 (EUR 98) per month for motherless and fatherless child.
FRF 483 (EUR 74) per month if child is raised by a single parent.
See also above "other benefits".
Taxation and social contributionsFamily benefits are not subject to income taxes.
Not applicable.
Family benefits, with the exception of the benefit for families employing an approved maternal assistant (AFEAMA), the allowance for childcare at home (AGED), the allowance for single parent (API), the special education allowance with its increment, are subject to the contribution for the repayment of the social debt (CRDS) at a rate of 0.5%.