France Pension Reform Suspended: What the 7 May 2026 Decree Changes for MRE Who Contributed in France
Decree no. 2026-344 of 7 May 2026 and its twin 2026-345 enact the partial suspension of the 2023 French pension reform. Application to pensions taking effect from 1 September 2026. For MRE who worked in France, here are the new long-career retirement ages, the fate of Moroccan quarters, and the pitfalls of France-Morocco pension pooling.
France published in the Official Journal of 8 May 2026 two decrees enacting the partial suspension of the 2023 pension reform. Decree no. 2026-344 of 7 May 2026 readjusts the legal retirement age and required insurance duration for civil servants and State workers; decree no. 2026-345 changes the rules for early retirement on long-career grounds. Application to pensions taking effect from 1 September 2026. For MRE who contributed in France before or after leaving, this move changes several reference points.
What the 2023 reform set out and what is suspended
The Law of 14 April 2023 had progressively raised the legal retirement age from 62 to 64, ramping up at three months per generation between 1961 and 1968. It had also tightened long-career conditions and reduced some adjustment schemes.
The Social Security Financing Law for 2026 (LFSS 2026), adopted at the end of December 2025, partially suspends this ramp-up. The decrees of 7 May 2026 set out the practical terms: for pensions taking effect from 1 September 2026, certain parameters partly revert to their pre-2023 state.
The new long-career retirement ages
Decree no. 2026-345 adjusts the age thresholds applicable to early retirement on long-career grounds.
For an insured person who started working before age 16, retirement is possible from age 58 (subject to required quarters). For an insured person who started before 18, retirement is possible from age 60. For an insured person who started before 20, retirement is possible between 60 and 62 depending on insurance duration. For an insured person who started before 21, retirement is possible from age 63.
These thresholds apply to pensions taking effect from 1 September 2026. Concretely, an MRE who started working in France before age 20 and then left France for Morocco or another country can, subject to meeting the duration conditions, benefit from this scheme on the French part of their career.
What happens to quarters acquired abroad
The general rule of international pension law applies: an MRE permanently retains the rights they acquired in each country where they contributed. They can either liquidate each pension separately in each country, or benefit from totalisation under the France-Morocco bilateral social security agreement.
The France-Morocco agreement of 9 July 1965 (modified by successive addenda) provides that to open a pension right in France, periods contributed in Morocco may be taken into account if the French duration alone is insufficient. And vice versa for the Moroccan pension calculation. The mechanism is called totalisation.
The 2026 change on French long careers applies to French periods. Moroccan quarters do not count for the early-start conditions (before 16, 18, 20 or 21), which are assessed under French law alone. However, they are taken into account to complete the overall insurance duration if the French minimum is not reached.
The catch on child duration credit
From 1 September 2026, child duration credit quarters are now counted as deemed-contributed periods for the right to early retirement on long-career grounds. This change concerns all base schemes: general scheme, civil service, self-employed, liberal professions, lawyers, farmers.
For an MRE in France, mother of several children, this change may trigger eligibility for early retirement that was not previously possible. The gain may be several quarters, sometimes enough to trigger a long-career right.
For an MRE who had her children in Morocco and contributed in France after settling, the rule applies the same way if the children opened a credit right under the French scheme. The condition is documentary: you must be able to evidence the parental status and the duration of care.
The total redesign of pension-employment combination from 2027
LFSS 2026 fully redesigns the pension-employment combination scheme for insured persons whose first base pension takes effect from 1 January 2027. This reform directly affects MRE planning to take their French pension while continuing professional activity, in France or in Morocco.
Before the legal retirement age (64), any combination is neutralised by a full clawback from the first euro. The pension is reduced by 100 % of the professional and replacement income counted.
For an MRE who would take their French pension before 64 (for example via a long-career exit at 60 or 62) while continuing professional activity in Morocco, the risk is to see the French pension reduced or even cancelled during the period between the French pension start and the French legal retirement age. A precise simulation is essential before any early exit.
Civil servants and State workers
Decree no. 2026-344 specifically targets civil servants and State workers. Some generations born between 1964 and 1968 benefit from an adjustment to the calendar initially set by the 2023 reform. Concretely, for these generations, the legal retirement age may be slightly lower than originally planned, with a progressive alignment to the 64 target.
For an MRE who was a French civil servant (teacher, seconded territorial agent, civil servant seconded abroad) and settled in Morocco after service, this decree may change available retirement dates. The check should be done individually on retraitesdeletat.gouv.fr or by request to the Service des retraites de l'Etat.
Tools to assess your situation
Three tools are available for an MRE who wants to assess their situation under French law.
The individual pension account on info-retraite.fr centralises all periods contributed across French schemes. An MRE can log in with France Connect credentials (tax, health insurance, La Poste, etc.). The portal generates figured estimates under different retirement age scenarios.
The online retirement application service on the same portal allows filing the request without travelling to France. The file is processed by CNAV (general scheme) or the competent fund.
For technical questions on the application of decree 2026-344 to an individual case, the pension administration (lassuranceretraite.fr) responds by messaging via the personal account, or by phone at 3960 (from France).
The specific France-Morocco agreement context
The France-Morocco bilateral agreement remains the reference framework for coordinating the two schemes. It provides for:
- •totalisation of periods to open a pension right if the duration in a single country is insufficient,
- •calculation of a prorated pension if the right is opened by totalisation,
- •the ability to receive a French pension in Morocco, with no calculation change linked to country of residence,
- •coordination of rules applicable in case of simultaneous activity in both countries.
Decree 2026-344 does not modify the agreement. It modifies the French calculation rules, which then apply to the French part of the MRE file.
Three concrete actions to take today
First, retrieve or update your individual pension statement on info-retraite.fr. Quarters acquired before paper records were digitised or during international mobility may be missing and require a claim with the relevant scheme.
Second, simulate your possible long-career retirement age under the new framework of decree 2026-345. If you were born between 1964 and 1968 and started working before 20 or 21, you are potentially concerned by a revision of your retirement date.
Third, if you plan an early exit combined with continued activity (in France or in Morocco), run a precise simulation of pension-employment combination under the framework redesigned from 2027. Full clawback before 64 may fully neutralise the French pension over that period.
Official sources
Decrees no. 2026-344 and no. 2026-345 of 7 May 2026 are published on Legifrance legifrance.gouv.fr. Law no. 2025-1403 of 30 December 2025 on social security financing for 2026 is also on Legifrance.
The Service des retraites de l'Etat retraitesdeletat.gouv.fr publishes its application notes for civil servants. The pension administration lassuranceretraite.fr covers the general scheme. The portal info-retraite.fr provides the consolidated multi-scheme view.
For France-Morocco coordination, the bilateral agreement and its addenda are available on the website of the Centre des Liaisons Europeennes et Internationales de Securite Sociale (CLEISS) cleiss.fr. CLEISS also publishes detailed country sheets for Morocco.
For a complex individual situation (multi-country career, seconded civil servant, severance indemnity, combination with a Moroccan pension), recourse to a specialist pension adviser experienced in international files can save time and avoid liquidation errors that are difficult to correct after the fact.
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