In France, pensions fall into five major divisions;

This minimum pension (French: Allocation de solidarité aux personnes âgées) is the first level of the first pillar of the French pension system. The ASPA is a monthly benefit paid to low-income seniors, whether or not they are former employees. It is not a retirement pension: it is financed by the State, not by social contributions. It is a "social minimum", like the RSA (revenu de solidarité active). Since January 1, 2006, it has replaced the multiple components of the minimum old-age pension or the "Minimum vieillesse" in french. This pension is paid by the CNAV, the Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Vieillesse, the French social security organization that manages the basic pension; or by the MSA, the agricultural social security, when the elderly person depends on the agricultural system. This minimum pension is targeted to ensure that individuals with low salary contributions during their working lives can receive a base level of pension. The mechanism for this is the minimum contributory pension (minimum contribution), which ensures that retirees receive a minimum monthly pension if their basic pension is below a certain threshold. As of early 2024, the monthly ceiling for personal pensions required to qualify for the minimum contributive pension was revised to €1,367.51 following a rise in the SMIC (minimum wage). This adjustment ensures that the sum of the primary and supplementary pension does not exceed this ceiling, aligning retirees' total pensions to the new amount if they are entitled to the minimum contributive pension.

There are several conditions for receiving this pension:

The amount of the ASPA is calculated by taking into account the difference between the required resource ceiling and your income. In 2022, the maximum amount of the allowance is 11,001.44 euros per year for a single person (916.78 euros per month) and 17,079.77 euros per year for a couple (1,423.31 euros per month). When a beneficiary receives other income, it is deducted from the ASPA.

The ASPA is not a simple allowance, it must be seen as an advance from the state: a recovery of the allocated sums can take place in the form of a levy on the eventual inheritance (if the amount of the inheritance exceeds 39,000 euros of net assets). The ASPA, therefore, has a redistributive character among recipients.

The expression "minimum old-age pension" (French: Minimum vieillesse) corresponds to a former allowance that no longer exists, but it is still used in everyday language to designate the ASPA The minimum old-age pension was created in 1956 and replaces the old workers' allowance AVTS of 1942. The objective is close to that of the ASPA. Unlike the ASPA, however, the minimum old-age pension is made up of different allowances (and not a single allowance in the case of the ASPA). The conditions for obtaining this benefit are similar to those of the ASPA; in particular, since the law of May 1998, which eliminates all nationality requirements.

This allowance is divided into two levels:

The mandatory state pension is an unfunded contributory pension based on the redistribution of contributions from those working to those in retirement. The scheme aims to provide up to a maximum of 50% of the retiree's income during their 25 highest earning years up to the Plafond de la sécurité sociale (€41,136 annually in 2022).