The preparation for retirement is based on parameters that change. Law No. 2025-1403 of December 30, 2025, and the decree of May 7, 2026, have modified the long career rules and suspended the evolution of the legal retirement age starting from September 1, 2026.
A simulation conducted two years before filing a claim can therefore yield an outdated result on the day of the actual request. Measuring the gap between an old projection and the regulations in force at the time of departure is the first reflex to adopt.
Retirement Simulation and Changing Regulations: The Gap to Monitor
Most content presents retirement preparation as a linear process: checking one’s career statement, simulating an amount, submitting a request. This model assumes that the rules remain stable between the first simulation and the actual submission.
The suspension of the reform starting September 1, 2026, shows that this stability is not guaranteed. Insured individuals born between 1964 and 1970 are directly affected by new long career rules, where the retirement age depends on the year of birth and the age of starting work.
A simulation carried out in 2024 for a planned departure in 2027 may show a legal age, a number of required quarters, or a pension amount that no longer corresponds to the regulations applicable at the time of departure. To discover retirement with Seniorova, it is useful to cross-reference simulation tools with the latest regulatory updates published by Service-Public.fr.
| Simulation Element | Risk of Discrepancy | Recommended Verification |
|---|---|---|
| Legal Retirement Age | Modified by the suspension of the reform (Sept. 2026) | Recalculate after each legislative change |
| Number of Required Quarters | Variable depending on year of birth and long career scheme | Consult one’s career statement on Info Retraite |
| Estimated Pension Amount | Depends on the recalculated full rate and the latest integrated salaries | Restart a simulation less than six months before submission |
| Long Career Eligibility | Criteria refined by the decree of May 7, 2026 | Check the correspondence between the age of starting work and new thresholds |
Career Statement and Missing Quarters: Where Errors Hide
The career statement accessible via the retirement account on Info Retraite consolidates data transmitted by each mandatory pension fund. This document centralizes salaries, validated quarters, and assimilated periods (unemployment, illness, maternity).
The most common errors concern unreported periods. Seasonal employment, work abroad, or a change in status (from employee to self-employed) can create a gap in the statement. Each missing quarter potentially pushes back the retirement date or reduces the pension amount.
In practice, initiating this verification early enough allows for gathering the necessary supporting documents (old pay slips, employer certificates) before they become hard to find.
- Compare each year listed on the statement with one’s own records (pay slips, contracts, Pôle emploi certificates).
- Report any discrepancies directly via the personal space on the Assurance retraite website, attaching digitized supporting documents.
- Ensure that periods of military service, vocational training, or parental leave are correctly listed as assimilated quarters.
Long Career After the Decree of May 7, 2026: What Changes Practically
The long career scheme allows for early retirement for those who started working before a certain age. With the decree of May 7, 2026, the thresholds for the age of starting work and the conditions for quarters have been recalibrated for the generations 1964 to 1970.
This change means that an insured person who believed they were eligible under the old rules may no longer be, or vice versa. The discrepancy is not always visible on an old simulation, as online tools incorporate the new rules with varying delays.
When to Restart Your Departure Simulation
The logic of a single simulation conducted several years before departure no longer holds. A regulatory check just before filing a claim is now necessary. Service-Public.fr recommends cross-referencing the simulation with the current texts, rather than relying on a fixed result.
If the result of a new simulation differs from the initial projection, there is still time to adjust the date or buy back quarters if this option is financially relevant.
Retirement Income: Anticipating Beyond the Basic Pension
The pension paid by the basic scheme and the supplementary retirement plan only represents part of the retirement income. The gap between the last net salary and the first pension often exceeds the expectations of future retirees who only consider the mandatory scheme.
Several levers exist to reduce this gap:
- The Retirement Savings Plan (PER) allows for building up capital or a supplementary annuity, with a tax advantage at entry proportional to the marginal tax rate.
- Life insurance remains a tool for transmission and income supplementation, with reduced taxation after eight years of holding.
- Progressive retirement allows for reducing working hours while starting to receive a portion of the pension, facilitating the transition without a sudden drop in income.
- The combination of work and retirement allows for resuming an activity after departure, under certain ceiling conditions or in full combination if the full rate is reached.
Each of these schemes follows distinct tax and social rules. Combining them requires modeling their net impact on annual income, not just their gross yield.
With the suspension of the reform on September 1, 2026, and the recalibration of the long career scheme, the last simulation before filing a claim is as important as the first. Checking one’s career statement, restarting an updated projection, and evaluating supplementary income in the months leading up to departure remains the most reliable sequence.
