Combining Employment and Retirement 2026 – The Solution to Retain Your Experts

The 2023 Revolution: Creating New Retirement Rights

Before September 2023, many seniors felt they were "contributing for nothing" by working after retirement: old-age pension contributions on earned income did not grant any additional rights.

The combining employment and retirement It was mainly used to supplement short-term income or to maintain a professional connection.

Since the reform came into effect on September 1, 2023, the logic has changed for people in full cumulative :

• the contributions paid on the new activity generate rights for a second basic pension in the scheme linked to this activity (general scheme, for example);
• this second pension is calculated at full rate, without discount, even if the new contribution period is short;
• she comes add to the first pension payment already in progress.

However, there is a clear limit: this second pension cannot be established only once in a lifetimeAfter its liquidation, any new paid activity will not create any additional rights, even in full accumulation.

In concrete terms, an expert who earns between €3,000 and €4,000 gross per month for 2 or 3 years in full cumulative It can generate a second pension of a few dozen to a few hundred euros gross per month, for life. In a context of rising prices, this is not insignificant.

"Offering a senior employee the opportunity to stay a few more years gives them meaning, but also provides them with additional future income," a manager of an industrial SME recently told us.

For the company, this perspective helps to convince an expert to remain available to support a team, structure a transfer or manage sensitive cases for another 3 to 5 years.

The Crucial 6-Month Rule with the Former Employer

The 2023 reform includes a rule that is often misunderstood, but crucial when a senior citizen resumes work at home. last employer.

• If the retiree returns to work within 6 months following the liquidation of his pension, the contributions paid on this new activity will never create new rightsEven if it then becomes fully cumulative, this period will have no effect on the second pension.
• If he respects a deadline ofat least 6 months Between the effective date of his retirement and his return to work with his former employer, contributions accrue rights as in any other company, provided he is in full cumulative.

In our practice, we plan very precisely:

• the retirement date,
• the possible date of return to the employer,
• possible assignments in other structures during this period (or via independent status).

Work4Experts designs these trajectories in a safe manner, so that Combining Employment and Retirement in 2026: The Solution to Retain Your Experts rhymes with rights optimization rather than with unpleasant surprises.

Returning to Work at Your Last Employer: The Complete Guide

In real life, the most frequent situation is simple: the company lets an expert go, then quickly realizes that it still needs him for a few days a month to secure an installation, support a strategic client or finalize a project.

Resuming activity at the last employer seems natural, but the legal framework depends on the type of combination:

• In full cumulative
• The retiree can return to salaried employment with their former employer the day after their departure, without any waiting period for pension payments. However, if this return to work occurs before six months, no new rights will not be created for the second pension.
• Maximum cumulative
• The retiree can't They must return to salaried employment with their last employer within six months. If they do so anyway, their basic pension is suspended until the end of the sixth month following their retirement date, which can create significant financial strain.

The concept of last employer in principle targets the legal entity that paid the salary, which can raise questions in groups with several subsidiaries.

Returning to another company within the same group can be analyzed differently depending on the capital structure. It is therefore essential to verify these points before offering a new contract to a retiree.

To circumvent these pitfalls, many companies choose to continue collaborating with their former employees under a independent statusThat's where Combining Employment and Retirement in 2025: The Solution to Retain Your Expertssupported by Work4Experts, takes on its full meaning: we are setting up an independent intervention framework, in compliance with social and tax rules, without employer charges for the company and with a secure situation for the retiree with regard to his funds.

Work4Experts: Your Partner for Risk-Free Implementation

Even for an experienced HR director, the combining employment and retirement It easily resembles a labyrinth: conditions for full accumulation, ceilings for capped accumulation, waiting periods with the last employer, specificities of the self-employed, declarations to the funds…

It is precisely to avoid these mistakes that we created Work4Experts.

Our role is twofold:

• From a business perspective : to offer a simple way to retain senior experts without recreating a classic employment contract, or incurring additional employer contributions.
• Senior side : to set up a suitable self-employed status, allowing the accumulation of pension and income within a legal framework, with rapid payment and delegated administrative management.

Specifically, we:

1. Let's analyze the situation of the senior citizen and the company
2. (career, pension plans, pension level, business plan, target income).
3. Let's define the framework of Combining Employment and Retirement in 2025: The Solution to Retain Your Experts
4. (full or capped accumulation) and adjust the volume of activity accordingly.
5. Let's structure the relationship in the form of a service provided by a senior independent contractor.
6. The company entrusts us with the mission, the expert carries it out, we manage contracts, invoicing and declarations.

The company settles a simple invoice, without employer contributions, and the expert receives a fast and transparent payment.

Over the years, we have helped:

• industrial SMEs need to keep a technical director two days a week to secure the production tool;
• mid-sized companies maintain relationships with major accounts through the regular involvement of a former sales director.

In each case, the idea remains the same: retaining expertise at the right level of intensitywithout increasing the payroll or taking legal risks.

For Businesses: Retention of Expertise at No Extra Cost

Managers and HR directors often ask us the same question: "How can we retain a senior expert without creating a new full-time position?"

With Work4Experts :

• the company uses a independent senior citizen for targeted missions, based on the volume actually needed;
• costs remain under control, aligned with actual activity, without heavy long-term commitments;
• there is no employer contributionsbecause it is a service provided, not a salary.

This model allows the use of Combining Employment and Retirement in 2026: The Solution to Retain Your Experts like a financially sustainable toolThis includes services for SMEs with tight margins. At the same time, we handle all the administrative tasks, freeing up time for the HR and accounting teams.

Beyond the budget, this framework promotes a structured transmission : the senior's interventions can be focused on training, documenting procedures or supporting the successor.

This allows the company to gain time to stabilize the new team, while maintaining a high level of service for its customers.

For Senior Experts: Freedom and Recognition

For senior experts, the expectations are often the same: to remain active, but at their own pace.

Thanks to Work4Experts, they :

• intervene asindependents,
• choose their missions.
• adjust their workload (from a few days per year to several days per month).

We systematically verify the applicable rules for combining pension and retirement benefits (full or capped), in conjunction with the pension funds. The senior citizen is thus informed of:

• the amount of his pension,
• potential income ceilings,
• the impact of his additional earnings,
• the conditions for benefiting from second pension in the case of full accumulation.

We manage contracts, invoicing, financial flows and reporting obligations related to the business.

The expert can focus on what makes them valuable: their technical or managerial expertise. In this context, Combining Employment and Retirement in 2025: The Solution to Retain Your Experts becomes a pleasant and secure way to extend a career.

Administrative Procedures and Legal Obligations

Set up a combining employment and retirement It is not limited to signing a mission. Several steps are essential, otherwise payment delays or pension suspension may occur.

The main stages:

• Cease prior activity
• For an employee, retirement liquidation implies the termination of all current employment contracts, even if a resumption is envisaged afterwards.
• Liquidate all pensions
• Basic and supplementary, in France and abroad, if one aims for the full cumulative.
• Declare any resumption of activity
• With the pension funds (basic and supplementary), in the the following month The resumption. It is necessary to specify: identity of the employer or independent contractor, start date, nature of income and social security scheme to which one is affiliated.
• Case of the self-employed
• Some may be able to continue their activity while liquidating their rights, but the ceilings and calculation rules differ. A case-by-case verification is essential.

At the house of Work4ExpertsWe handle these exchanges for the experts we support: preparing files, securing transmitted information, and monitoring confirmations.

This avoids the "classics": small foreign pension forgotten which prevents full accumulation, late declaration leading to a temporary suspension of the pension, etc.