The Family Branch of the French Social Security System

Transcription

1 Caisse nationale des Allocations familiales 32, avenue de la Sibelle Paris Cedex 14 The Family Branch of the French Social Security System >

2 THE FAMILY BRANCH OF THE FRENCH SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM > France devotes 4.4% of its GDP to family policy, with the family branch of the social security system administering 60% of that amount. Family benefits, which number in the twenties, are targeted at five main areas : Early childhood. Families with one or more children aged under three received nearly 11 billion in benefits in The early childhood benefit (PAJE), designed to give parents greater choice in balancing work and family life, is the pivotal mechanism in this area. Families with three or more children. These make up 18% of all families but account for more than 40% of all children, while receiving 43% of all family benefits. In France, financial support increases with family size, with benefits reflecting the household expenditure-to-income ratio. Today s family policy is no longer a pro-birth one but a policy to combat poverty. Though benefits are paid to over a third of all families with just one child, they are targeted at the most disadvantaged of those families, as well as disabled children and single-parent families. Housing for families. Financial assistance increases significantly the lower the household income and the larger the family. The family branch administers nearly three-quarters of all housing aid in what is a highly redistributive system. Single-parent families. These families make up 8% of all families in France but receive nearly 20% of all family benefits. Lone parents also receive help in collecting child support payments. Lifting families out of poverty. France s social protection system has the effect of reducing the proportion of children living in poverty from 27.7% before redistribution, to 7.7% after (source: Unicef) Social welfare in the form of services, facilities and amenities, complements income redistribution mechanisms. Costing around 4 billion annually, social welfare for families constitutes the biggest chunk of social welfare provided by the French social security system. In the area of family policy, the income distribution services, facilities and amenities ratio is 92%-8%. The predominant form of social welfare in the family branch of the social security system is childcare, which accounts for 75% of all welfare provided by the family branch. But support is also on hand for other needs, including housing, parenting, family mediation and social assistance for families in difficulty. Over 10,000 new nursery places are created each year under the social welfare system. Although administered at the local level, the aims and programmes of social welfare are determined within a broad framework of national priorities. Social welfare is to a large extent delivered in partnership with local government (départements and communes).

3 > The family branch of the social security system administers three of France s nine minimum income programmes : the disabled adult s allowance (allocation aux adultes handicap - AAH) introduced in 1975, the single parent s allowance (allocation du parent isolé - API) introduced in 1976, the guaranteed minimum income (revenue minimum d insertion - RMI), introduced in In June 2009, the RMI and API are to be replaced by the revenue de solidarité active (RSA), also to be administered by the family branch. The key goals driving this important reform are : to target social expenditure at helping people back into work, to help people on low incomes. The family branch will thus have responsibility for a new form of social support geared particularly towards helping single parents. > The family branch implements social law provisions that are both flexible and impartial, while reflecting changing family structures and societal needs. Cohabitation was recognised by family (civil) law in 1970 and as early as 1946 by French social law. Births outside marriage (now nearly half of all births in France) are treated in the same way as other births. Further to the introduction of the civil union contract (PACS) in 1999, the family branch pays benefits to all parents regardless of their sexual orientation. > The family branch is built on a system that combines both universal and targeted benefits and that does not exclude the middle classes. Family benefits stricto sensu are universal and since 1976 have been extended to the entire population. Only the wealthiest 15% of families do not qualify for early childhood benefits. Means-testing is admittedly stricter for the back-to-school allowance, while housing allowances are reserved for families on very low incomes. > At 70 billion, expenditure on families is equivalent to the state education budget (not including higher education) and far exceeds defence spending. The huge mass of money handled by employees necessitate rigorous accounting procedures. BENEFICIARIES > 11.8 households claim family benefits in France. Including spouses, co-habiting partners and children, the local family benefit funds have a total 29 million people on their files - nearly half the French population. > Of those 11.8 households, 6.6 million are families with dependent children and 5.2 million single parent families or childless couples. > Among the families with children : 47.4% have two dependent children, 30.3% have one child, 22.3% have three or more children > 97% express satisfaction with the service provided by the local family benefit funds. A TRULY MODERN PUBLIC SERVICE > One of France s biggest computerized systems, using the Cristal software package. > Features : Real-time processing replacing the night-time batch system used in the past. Any change of circumstances (which concerns about one third of all files every month) is immediately reflected in the system and entitlement recalculated accordingly.

4 A computer system that facilitates the job of employees, who are able to view all correspondence with claimants and other relevant documents on their computer screen. A single record for each claimant, so that entitlement can be calculated on the basis of a single parameter such as income. Interactive information terminals for families and partner social security institutions. Trials of virtual help-desks employing video conferencing technology. E-administration and paperless forms and records (e.g. internet forms for students applying for the student accommodation allowance), Guidance for claimants (see monenfant.fr). > A core service package agreed with the government, under which the family benefit funds commit to : a maximum application processing time of 15 days and 10 days for struggling families, a 20-minute maximum waiting time at family benefit offices, a 90% call answer rate, a progressive move to a more comprehensive service offering, involving a mix of financial aid and services (e.g. financial assistance for single mothers or family mediation service, or both if necessary). > Lower administrative costs compared to the private sector. The family branch handles : more than 30 statutory benefits, 400 items of data regarding entitlement, nearly 1,700 provisions of law, for an administrative cost of 2.6% of the amount paid out in benefits! > A robust anti-fraud policy : 35% of all benefit claims subject to controls, pro-active targeting of potential fraud, use of data mining for automatic processing of data and detection of inconsistencies. GOVERNANCE > The family branch is headed by the CNAF, a public institution that oversees a network of 123 local family benefit funds. About 360 people work within the institution s administrative division and governance is provided by a board of directors composed of representatives of employees and employers in equal measure as well as representatives of family associations and experts. As a provider of opinions on all draft legislation on family-related issues, the CNAF is an active contributor to the process of social democracy. > At the local level, the goal is to ensure one family benefit fund per département by 2011 in the interests of effective partnership with local government and efficient organisation of the network. > A network administered by means of advanced production processes to ensure high-quality service, better management and transparency in contacts with the local funds. > A contractual arrangement with the state. Every four years an Agreement on Objectives and Management (Convention d Objectif et de Gestion) is signed, fixing : the target growth rate for social welfare expenditure, the administrative resources at the disposal of the local funds and the CNAF, the core service package, strategy with regard to administrative performances. SOURCES OF FINANCING > For family benefits : 60% of financing comes from employers contributions (5.4%), mostly through payroll taxes. The origins of this system can be traced back to the 19th century when family benefits were provided by employers, 20% from the CSG (tax on all income), 20% from government financing.

5 > For housing benefits: the family branch finances about half of all housing benefits. > The minimum benefit programmes are financed by the state and local government. PUBLIC POLICY RESEARCH AND ASSESSMENT The family branch began to invest very early on in the effort to shape and assess public policy. Most of this work is outsourced and translates into ongoing efforts to identify and evaluate : trends in the sociology of the family, the needs of families and children, the impact of public policies, public attitudes towards reforms (75% of people claim to be satisfied with the early childhood benefit). At the same time, extensive use of statistical analysis and simulations provides valuable information to the public authorities on the cost and impacts of the reforms. A FEW WORDS OF CONCLUSION The French system has a very precise set of legal definitions regarding the beneficiaries of family benefits. > the allocataire (claimant) is the person exercising entitlement to benefits (couples decide who is to assume this role; in 70% of cases it is the woman). > the attributaire (recipient) is the person to whom the benefits are paid. > the child is the beneficiary of the benefit payments. It can thus be seen that as regards the redistribution of income, the focus is on the family unit (in whatever form), rather than on the rights of the child as is the case in civil law. The latter is at the origin of family benefits in the legal and practical sense (benefits increase in line with family size and are means-tested in part) and is part of what makes French family policy unique. AN OUTWARD-LOOKING INSTITUTION The family branch is actively involved in cooperation both in Europe and other parts of the world. Assistance to Romania in setting up a family and social benefits agency ahead of EU accession and support for the creation of minimum benefit programmes in three regions of Russia are just two examples of its activities in the international arena. It also provides expert input in response to requests for assistance from our friends abroad. Barely a month goes by without the CNAF hosting one or more visiting foreign delegations. As a member of the International Social Security Association, the CNAF sits on the boards of 15 or so international institutions. It cultivates an export/import strategy, drawing on good practice in other countries to improve its own systems and processes.