In French law a retiree is over-indebted, surendetté, when they clearly can no longer meet all their non-business debts from their income and assets. In that position no reputable lender will grant new credit. The only lawful and effective route is an over-indebtedness application, filed free of charge with the Banque de France.
Retirees are exposed for specific reasons: the fall in income when work stops, the loss of a second pension on widowhood, revolving credit taken out to help the family. Among the over-60s, the problem usually stems less from overspending than from an income that has dropped while the monthly repayments stayed exactly the same.
How the commission handles a retiree's application
Each département has an over-indebtedness commission run by the Banque de France. It first checks admissibility: good faith, debts that are not business debts, and a genuine inability to pay. Once the file is declared admissible, enforcement action is suspended and you must not take on any further debt. The commission then assesses what you can repay while leaving you at least the basic RSA amount to live on, €651.69 for a single person since April 2026.
Three possible outcomes, depending on pension and assets
The French Consumer Code provides for an agreed plan, imposed measures or a personal recovery order, the rétablissement personnel. The table sets out when each applies and what it means for a retired borrower.
| Measure | When it applies | Length | FICP listing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agreed repayment plan | Creditors agree, often where property exists | Seven years at most, longer only to keep a main home | Length of the plan, seven years maximum |
| Imposed measures | No agreement, or no property | Rescheduling, lower rates, partial write-off | Length of the measures, seven years maximum |
| Personal recovery without liquidation | Situation beyond repair, nothing worth seizing | Immediate write-off of debts | Five years |
| Personal recovery with liquidation | Assets to be sold | Court procedure | Five years |
Worked example: five loans and a small pension
Huguette, 76, rents her flat and has lived on €1,250 a month since her husband died. She is repaying five consumer loans totalling €23,000, at €690 a month. After rent, energy and top-up health insurance, her budget is €300 in the red every month. With no property and a pension that will not rise, the commission may steer her towards a personal recovery order.
In that case her credit debts are wiped out; maintenance payments and criminal fines, among others, are not. She is listed on the FICP, the Banque de France register of repayment incidents, for five years. She normally keeps her current account but will find it practically impossible to obtain ordinary credit until the listing lapses.
What creditors can and cannot seize from a pension
Before the procedure starts, a pension is only partly seizable: it follows the same sliding scale as wages, and the bank must leave an unseizable balance on your account equal to the RSA for one person. The ASPA minimum pension and some social benefits cannot be seized at all. Knowing these rules stops you grabbing a last-minute loan to halt a seizure.
Moves that make things worse
The most damaging is taking a new loan to pay the old ones. The usury ceiling, the legal maximum APR, on loans below €3,000 stands at 23.60% in the fourth quarter of 2026: repaying expensive credit with more expensive credit only deepens the hole. Once the procedure is under way, borrowing without permission can also get you thrown out of it.
Waiting too long before filing
Many retirees put it off out of shame or fear of losing their home. Yet filing suspends seizures and chasing letters, and owners can keep their main residence under many plans. The longer arrears build up, the more charges and penalties swell the debt to be dealt with.
Consolidation offers that promise to erase everything
Some intermediaries target people already listed on the FICP with miracle consolidation deals in exchange for fees paid in advance. A French credit intermediary may not receive any money before the funds are actually released. Any request for a deposit is a warning sign, and the intermediary's ORIAS registration should be checked.
Hiding a debt from the commission
Leaving out a family loan, a tax debt or a little-used revolving card undermines your good faith. The commission needs the full picture, including rent and service-charge arrears. A forgotten debt that resurfaces later can wreck a plan or block a write-off. Debts owed abroad, a UK credit card for instance, should be declared too; French measures may not bind a foreign creditor automatically, so mention them to your adviser.
Help before, during and after the procedure
Points conseil budget, the free budget-advice centres, help you prepare the file and negotiate with creditors. CCAS social-action centres, Udaf family associations and specialist charities such as Crésus also support retirees. Some banks run their own service: Crédit Agricole's Point Passerelle offers budget reviews, rescheduling of existing loans and microcredit to customers hit by a life event.
When the debt is heavy but not yet unmanageable
A homeowner in difficulty who is not yet over-indebted can look at a mortgage-backed consolidation, or at a prêt viager hypothécaire (lifetime mortgage) from 60 to clear debts without monthly payments. Both require a property of sufficient value and a careful look at the total cost, since they reduce what you pass on.
Returning to credit after an FICP listing
At the end of a plan that has been honoured, or five years after a personal recovery order, the FICP listing is deleted. A modest personal loan repaid without incident then rebuilds trust. Supported microcredit is often the first step, although most networks do not lend to people still in the procedure.
Filing an over-indebtedness application, step by step
- List every debt: loans, rent, taxes, bills and family loans.
- Gather your pension certificates, tax notice and recent bank statements.
- Book an appointment with a Point conseil budget or a CCAS social worker.
- Complete the form online or on paper and submit it to the Banque de France.
- Stop taking any credit from the day you file and tell your creditors.
- Keep to the plan or measures and report any change in your pension to the commission.
Can a commission help if your pension comes from abroad? Yes: what counts is that you live in France and your debts are personal. Foreign pensions are treated as income like any other, so bring the award letters and recent payment statements.
Questions from over-indebted retirees
Can my pension be taken from me during the procedure? No. Seizures are suspended once the file is admissible, and the commission guarantees you at least the single-person RSA amount to live on.
Will my house be sold? Not necessarily. The commission looks for measures that avoid selling your main home; liquidation happens only when your assets are out of proportion to your debts.
Do my children inherit debts that were written off? A written-off debt no longer exists. Debts still outstanding at death go into the estate, which heirs can refuse or accept only up to its net value.
How long does the FICP listing last after a plan? For the length of the plan, up to seven years. It ends earlier if all the debts in the plan are repaid ahead of schedule.
Is a new loan possible during a plan? In practice no, except with permission in exceptional circumstances. One-off help from a CCAS or your pension fund is a better fit than borrowing.
Organisations and offers to contact
- Crédit Agricole, Point Passerelle : Support scheme for customers hit by a life event: budget review, rescheduling of existing loans, microcredit and follow-up by trained volunteers.
- La finance pour tous (IEFP) : Financial-education institute's guide to agreed plans, imposed measures and personal recovery orders, with or without liquidation of assets.