The Struggling Social Security: A 6.3 Billion Euro Mishap
Social Security Family Branch: Pierre Moscovici Highlights Inaccuracies in Activity Premium for RSA
In an unexpected shake-up, the Court of Auditors pulled no punches when they publicly berated the family branch of Social Security on May 16, 2024. The culprit: a staggering €6.3 billion in uncorrected control errors! As a result, between the months of May 2024 and May 2025, the branch was plagued by a whopping €800 million increase in unjustified payments, labelled as "particularly high" by the Court itself.
The disarray stems primarily from a multitude of errors in the data used to calculate benefits. The tangled web of inaccuracies affects major benefits such as the Revenu de Solidarité Active (RSA), the prime d'activité, and housing assistance. In fact, more than a quarter of payments made for the prime d’activité alone were erroneous, according to the Court of Auditors.
These errors can be traced back to the beneficiaries themselves when they submit their income declarations. As per Nicolas Grivel, the general director of the National Family Allowance Fund (CNAF), the RSA and the activity bonus calculated from self-reported declarations are the most susceptible to errors. Nevertheless, Grivel is optimistic about the prospects of reducing these errors in the future.
A silver lining emerged with the deployment of the new "solidarity at the source" device across the nation from March 2024. This system pre-fills beneficiaries' declarations with data provided directly by their employers, France Travail (employment agency), and Assurance-maladie (health insurance). By relying less on self-reported income, the risk of errors is significantly decreased.
In essence:
Errors, Causes, and Solutions:- Errors in beneficiaries' income declarations result in significant inaccuracies in benefit calculations, leading to overpayments and underpayments.- The "solidarity at the source" system was introduced to mitigate errors, pre-filling beneficiaries' declarations with data from various sources.- Internal controls and data verification processes at the CNAF need improvement to ensure the accuracy of income data used for benefit calculations and rectify errors in a more timely manner.- Continuous monitoring and rectification of accounts to maintain financial stability in the family branch of Social Security.
- The miscalculations in benefits from the family branch of Social Security, totaling €6.3 billion, were primarily caused by errors in beneficiaries' self-reported income.
- A solution to reducing these errors is the implementation of the "solidarity at the source" system, which pre-fills beneficiaries' declarations with data from employers, France Travail, and Assurance-maladie.
- To maintain financial stability in the Social Security system, it is necessary to continuously monitor and rectify accounts, while also improving internal controls and data verification processes at the CNAF.
