As it stands at the moment the situation is as follows:
- If you are over the legal retirement age then you are completely unaffected, as part of reciprocal agreement between EU member states the E121 guarantees this.
- If you are under the legal retirement age, working legally and continue working in France (at least 60 hrs per month) and have been paying cotisations you will be unaffected.
- If you are under legal retirement and are not working, but have a E106 you will continue to be covered by this until its expiry (it normally covers your 1st 2 Years in France)
but after its expiry you could be in a situation where you need to purchase private health care or find a part time job (at least 60 hrs per mth) until you reach the legal retirement
age and the E121 kicks in.
- However if you are under the legal retirement age, are not covered by the E106 and are not working you could be asked to return your Carte Vitale which you will have to do, then you
will be in the same situation
- If you are in the process of moving to France and the first 2 points do not apply to you then the 3rd point will be the one that applies
- What if the wife is at the legal UK retirement age and has not reached the legal UK retirement, in the past the husband would have been able to be covered under the wife but now it is not sure if this will still be the case.
Apart from the first 2 points we can't be 100% sure on what is correct as there is no official line from the Government, CPAM or the EU and the local CPAM offices all seem have different ideas
about what should be being done. But what we can be sure of is that several local CPAM office have started recalling Carte Vitales from expats, so if you have a Carte Vitale keep hold of it and use it as normal unless CPAM tell you otherwise !
CPAM are saying its 'too early' to say exactly how the law is to be applied, they are currently advising that unless you are covered by an E121 or E106, you will need private health insurance cover. They have set up an English-speaking Help-Line which you can call on, 0820 904 212
This information is only provided as a guide and, if you need assistance in this area you are strongly advised to seek the help of a specialist in this field as each individual case is different.
If you have a question, want to arrange for a free financial review or just want further information I can be contacted on +33 (0)325461631 or at Steve@financialexpat.com
Financial Expat is registered and licensed in France under the European wide “umbrella group” of TSG insurance Services (The Spectrum IFA Group).
TSG Insurance Services S.A.R.L.
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