In a context where career management and quality of work life are emerging as major priorities, progressive retirement within the public service is gaining popularity. This scheme, long unknown and reserved for specific categories of public officials, is now opening up to a wider audience from the age of 60. It allows civil servants and contractual agents to adjust their working pace at the end of their career by gradually shifting to part-time while receiving part of their retirement pension. This smoother professional transition appears to be a solution with multiple benefits: maintaining a secure income, preserving the social bond within services, but also facilitating the transfer of skills to future generations. However, although progressive retirement is increasingly favored, it remains a discreet choice, often little known or poorly understood by a large portion of public agents. This recent development, in effect since September 2025, calls for an in-depth examination of the advantages, eligibility conditions, and concrete impacts on agents’ career ends.
The public service, a dense and heterogeneous sector, requires adapted mechanisms to support the diversity of its agents, whether civil servants or contractual from the three categories: State, territorial, or hospital. Progressive retirement fits into this dynamic, offering valuable flexibility in the face of demographic challenges and individual aspirations. By allowing the agent to reduce their working time while continuing to accumulate social rights and receive part of their pension, this scheme transforms the end of the career into a moment of balanced transition, reconciling professional life and active preparation for retirement. This new reality, reinforced by recent reforms, emphasizes a deep desire for modernization and better recognition of public agents’ needs in a constantly evolving society.
- 1 Understanding progressive retirement in the public service: a flexible and innovative end-of-career mechanism
- 2 Recent legislative developments: a progressive retirement accessible and harmonized for all public agents
- 3 Eligibility conditions for progressive retirement: strict yet inclusive framework for a serene end of career
- 4 How the pension is calculated in progressive retirement: principle of pro rata and continuous acquisition of rights
- 5 Procedures and practical advice for choosing progressive retirement: anticipate and secure your professional transition
Understanding progressive retirement in the public service: a flexible and innovative end-of-career mechanism
Progressive retirement is a scheme specifically designed for public agents who wish to ease their exit from the professional world. It offers the possibility to work part-time while simultaneously receiving a portion of their retirement pension. Unlike early retirement, which involves complete cessation of activity, progressive retirement allows the agent to remain active, retain their status, and acquire additional rights for their definitive retirement. This mechanism responds to a need for a more flexible professional transition, respecting both individual constraints and those of the public service.
Concretely, an agent can choose to reduce their working time to a proportion between 50% and 90% of full-time. The part of the pension they receive then corresponds to the fraction of time freed, calculated pro rata to the reduction in their activity. For example, an agent working at 60% of their time will receive 40% of their pension in addition to their partial salary. Thus, progressive retirement presents itself as a true balance between maintaining a regular income and progressively reducing the workload, with a controlled financial impact.
The objectives of this scheme are many and reflect a modern vision of career paths in the public service:
- Improve quality of life at the end of career: Reducing workload limits fatigue and stress related to the duties performed, thereby contributing to the agents’ well-being.
- Maintain professional and social ties: By remaining present within their service, even part-time, the agent avoids the isolation often felt approaching retirement and preserves their network.
- Facilitate knowledge transfer: The accumulated experience remains accessible to the community; agents in progressive retirement can support, train, and advise younger colleagues.
- Secure income: The combination of salary and pension ensures better financial stability, avoiding a sudden shock when switching to full retirement.
Although recent in its extended format, this scheme reflects a necessary adaptation to the changes in the public labor market, especially in response to longer working durations and agents’ increasing expectations for a better work-life balance.
Recent legislative developments: a progressive retirement accessible and harmonized for all public agents
The most significant reform of progressive retirement concerns its opening to all public agents, civil servants and contract staff, across the three public sectors – State, territorial, and hospital. Until 2025, this scheme was limited to certain categories, with rules applied heterogeneously. The publication of new legislative texts in 2024 enabled the harmonization of conditions and facilitated access to this choice for a larger number of agents from the age of 60.
This harmonization has numerous effects, especially in terms of equality between the public service sectors and simplification of rights for beneficiaries. The lowering of the minimum access age from 62 to 60 years gives new momentum to this option, making it more accessible, notably to those who wish to begin arranging their career end earlier.
| Criteria | Previous scheme (before September 2025) | New scheme (since September 2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Target audience | Agents limited to certain categories | All public agents (civil servants and contract staff) |
| Minimum age | 62 years | 60 years |
| Relevant public services | Variable application depending on sectors | State, territorial and hospital public services |
This development reflects a clear legislative intent to adapt the system to demographic realities and the needs of public agents nearing retirement. It also reflects better consideration of the desire to modulate this delicate period, often a source of anxiety and psychological constraints.
Eligibility conditions for progressive retirement: strict yet inclusive framework for a serene end of career
Access to progressive retirement relies on several precise criteria, balancing the need to guarantee a certain professional experience and respect for a limitation on working time. The legal age is now set at 60, with a key condition of 150 validated quarters of insurance, all schemes combined. This condition therefore includes quarters validated in the private scheme or equivalent (unemployment, maternity, etc.), revealing a desire for a multifaceted integration of career paths.
Beyond age and insurance duration, obtaining authorization to shift to part-time work is essential. The reduction in working time must be between 50% and 90% of full-time. If an agent holds several part-time jobs, the total sum must remain within this range. The request is subject to the employer’s approval, who can only refuse for compelling reasons related to service operation.
To summarize:
- Be at least 60 years old.
- Justify a total duration of 150 validated quarters.
- Perform a professional activity part-time, between 50% and 90% of full-time.
Once these conditions are met, agents benefit from double security: maintaining income and continuous acquisition of social rights. This favors a gradual and controlled transition.
How the pension is calculated in progressive retirement: principle of pro rata and continuous acquisition of rights
The financial operation of progressive retirement is based on a simple pro rata principle to understand. The pension paid during the period of reduced working time is calculated in proportion to the fraction of working time not performed. For example, if an agent chooses a part-time of 70%, they will receive 30% of the pension they would receive at full retirement, combined with their activity salary.
Consider a public agent whose pension, if they took definitive retirement at the time of the request, would be 2,000 euros gross per month. If they opt for an 80% part-time, here is the calculation performed:
| Element | Value | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Chosen work quota | 80% | – |
| Fraction of non-working time | 20% (100% – 80%) | – |
| Theoretical monthly pension | – | 2,000 € |
| Partial monthly pension | 20% | 400 € |
This payment, added to the part-time salary, ensures a continuous income source, limiting the financial loss linked to reduced activity. Moreover, the agent continues to contribute based on their part-time salary, validating additional quarters and generating points, thereby improving the final amount of their definitive pension.
It is crucial to emphasize that the pension received under progressive retirement is not fixed: it will be recalculated at the time of complete cessation of activity, taking into account the rights acquired during the transition phase. This means a possible upward adjustment, illustrating a form of investment in one’s own career end.
Procedures and practical advice for choosing progressive retirement: anticipate and secure your professional transition
Access to progressive retirement requires a well-organized approach as soon as the agent considers reducing their working time. The first step is to obtain the employer’s agreement for the shift to part-time. This point can represent an obstacle, as the employer must assess the service needs before responding. In most cases, a refusal must be justified, but depending on service constraints, the request might not be accepted.
Once approval is obtained, the agent must compile a complete file and submit it to their competent retirement fund. These documents notably include:
- The duly completed application form.
- A copy of the identity document.
- A certificate from the employer detailing the work quota and start date.
- An updated career statement confirming validated quarters.
- A bank account statement.
All these procedures recommend anticipating at least six months before the planned date of entering progressive retirement. This timeframe ensures smooth management of the different steps, especially administrative procedures that can sometimes be lengthy.
This good organization allows managing social rights securely, avoiding any income interruption, and optimizing the benefits linked to this scheme. Progressive retirement is not limited to a simple reduction of working time; it is part of a global strategy for sustainable and balanced end-of-career adjustment.
