In 2019, nearly 120 billion euros were redistributed through social policies in France.
But all is not perfect, far from it;
this is what emerged from a study published in November 2021 by the Council of State, commissioned by the Prime Minister, to draw up a report and propose solutions for improvement.
muddlemini
RSA, housing aid, childcare benefit, allowances for disabled adults… In total, around thirty national allowances benefit the French, depending on their resources.
To these envelopes, we must also add the social pricing mechanisms dedicated to the most precarious public (for example for the canteen or transport), without forgetting the optional aid schemes for local authorities which represent nearly 2 billion euros annual.
Ultimately, the benefits managed by the Family Allowance Funds (CAF) cover nearly half of the French population, while the social minima target 10%.
Downside: due to variable and overly complex allocation rules devoid of any overall vision, our redistributive system generates numerous inequalities which penalize above all the most vulnerable groups.
Indeed, as the Council of State pointed out, there are “four major families of resource bases, themselves characterized by great internal diversity”.
From one scheme to another, the applicants' income is therefore not taken into account in the same way, which leads to “waivers of rights or errors of good faith on the part of the beneficiaries”.
The gap with reality
To this multitude of bases of calculation are added certain notable aberrations.
The highest administrative court pointed out, for example, that at present, the RSA and the activity bonus depend on the “net income perceived” of the applicants.
However, this concept is not defined by any text having a legal value but only by the guide of the CNAF (National family allowance fund).
Worse, “this income does not correspond to any line of the payslip”.
Logical consequence: "60% of the declarations made for the activity bonus would be erroneous, often unfavorably to the beneficiaries", according to the Council of State.
Another inconsistency, income from assets that do not produce income are assessed through a single flat rate of 3% per year for many benefits, a rate of return that they are however far from achieving in reality.
Similarly, “small savings” – including bank accounts and regulated passbooks – are taken into account from the first euro in the beneficiaries' resources, even though they very often constitute an essential safety net.
As for the self-employed, they sometimes suffer from the discrepancy between their actual and previous situation since it is the turnover of the penultimate year preceding the request for benefits that counts for the calculation of their rights.
Towards simplification?
Unfair, illegible, misunderstood and unapplied, the rules for granting social benefits therefore need to be reformed.
It is with this objective that the Council of State has published 15 proposals aimed at simplifying, harmonizing and making social assistance more accessible.
First and foremost, the objective is to put an end to the proliferation of resource bases and keep only two: a harmonized base for all benefits relating to families, RSA, ASPA (allowance solidarity for the elderly) and legal social assistance;
as well as a maintained tax resource base for supports allocated from the tax sheet.
Among other suggestions, we also note the taking into account of the "net to be paid before tax" replacing the "net income received", the reduction of the 3% rate for income from assets to align it with that of the livret A ( 0.50%), the use of the last known year of turnover for the self-employed or the exclusion of modest aid for those close to the RSA resource bases and the activity bonus.
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