France advances Aspa reform to protect elderly from succession recovery
France advances Aspa reform with housing allowance to counter succession recovery deterring elderly applicants.
Event / Politics
France Social Support Bills
French National Assembly approves two bills on June 12, 2026: one to revalue student scholarships through automatic annual indexation and annualized payments (estimated cost 500+ million euros), and one to reform elderly solidarity allocations by introducing a housing allowance. Both bills advance to the Senate.
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2026-08-16 to 2026-11-13 · UTC publication dates
Coverage begins 12 Jun, 08:38 UTC
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What happened
Aspa reform bill introduces housing allowance to reduce succession recovery
The approved bill establishes a housing allowance allowing retirees who own their home or are hosted free of charge to have their Aspa amount reduced and eliminates succession recovery in these cases. The housing allowance should be several dozen euros according to the government and results in neutral cost to public finances.
Estimated cost of student scholarship reform bill exceeds 500 million euros
The proposed student scholarship bill, including automatic annual indexation and annualized payment, carries an estimated cost to public finances of over 500 million euros according to Minister Philippe Baptiste of Higher Education.
French National Assembly approves elderly solidarity allocation reform in first reading
The French National Assembly approved in first reading a bill to reduce the non-uptake of the Allocation de Solidarité aux Personnes Âgées (Aspa), an allocation paid from age 65 to supplement pensions of retirees with low or no income, currently benefiting nearly 750,000 people.
State currently recovers approximately 120 million euros annually from Aspa succession provisions
According to Minister Jean-Pierre Farandou, the French state currently recovers about 120 million euros per year from allocations paid under Aspa through succession recovery mechanisms.
Renaissance, Horizons, LR and UDR parliamentary groups abstain from student scholarship vote
Deputies from Renaissance, Horizons, LR and UDR groups abstained from voting on the student scholarship revaluation bill, citing concerns about the cost to public finances.
Student scholarship indexation not implemented since 2013 despite 30% cost of living increase
Student scholarships are among the only social aids that have not benefited from automatic revaluation of their amount and scale since 2013, despite the cost of student living having increased by nearly 30 percent according to deputy Soumya Bourouaha.
Over 300,000 elderly people forego Aspa eligibility due to succession recovery policy
The state currently recovers Aspa funds from the succession of elderly people if the net value of their estate exceeds 108,586 euros for a single person in mainland France. This policy causes strong non-uptake, with more than 300,000 elderly people eligible for Aspa renouncing it each year.
French National Assembly approves student scholarship revaluation bill in first reading
The French National Assembly approved on Thursday in first reading a bill from the GDR group (communists and overseas representatives) to index and increase student scholarships based on social criteria. The bill proposes automatic annual indexation at minimum on inflation and annualized payment of scholarships over 12 months instead of 10 months. The dispositions were adopted with quasi-unanimous support from left-wing groups and the National Rally.
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2 alternative perspectives
France approves student scholarship revaluation after decade without indexation
French Assembly passes 500+ million euro student scholarship reform after 11 years without indexation increases.