How the legal retirement age works
Your legal retirement age and the number of quarters (trimestres) required for a full-rate pension depend on your birth year and, for two generations (1961 and 1965), your birth month. France's 2023 pension reform gradually raised the legal age from 62 to 64 and the required quarters up to 172, generation by generation.
Loi n°2025-1403 of 30 December 2025 suspends this phase-in for pensions taking effect from 1 September 2026 until 1 January 2028 (décrets n°2026-344 and 2026-345 of 7 May 2026). The 1964-1968 generations are directly affected by this freeze. Important: the rules for counting long-career (carrière longue) quarters change from 1 September 2026 (Article 104 of the 2026 Social Security Financing Act), and the service-public.gouv.fr F13845 page had not yet been updated on this point as of the verification date below — check the latest official guidance before relying on this.
This calculator gives your retirement age and required quarters, NOT your pension amount. Indicative result based on the law in force (2023 reform + 2026 suspension).
Last verified: 2026-07-26. Legal basis: 2023 pension reform as modified by Loi n°2025-1403 of 30 December 2025 (suspension) and décrets n°2026-344 and 2026-345 of 7 May 2026.
I was born in 1966 — at what age can I retire?
At 63 years and 3 months, with 172 quarters required for the full rate, accounting for the 2026 pension reform suspension (Loi n°2025-1403). Born in 1964, the legal age stays at 62 years and 9 months with 170 quarters — that's precisely the generation the 2026 suspension explicitly freezes.
How to use this calculator
- Enter your birth year.
- If you were born in 1961 or 1965, also enter your birth month (the legal age differs before/after September 1961 and before/after April 1965).
- Read your legal retirement age, the required quarters, and the automatic full-rate age (67, unchanged).
- If you started working young, use the long-career section to see your possible early retirement age, then verify your actual contributed quarters on info-retraite.fr.
How the legal age is determined
Legal age and required quarters = table lookup by generation (birth year + month), as modified by the 2026 suspension (Loi n°2025-1403).
- Born before September 1961: 62 years, 167 quarters (pre-2023-reform).
- Born between September 1961 and 1963: legal age and quarters increase quarter by quarter under the 2023 reform.
- Born 1964 through 1968: parameters frozen/affected by the 2026 suspension (Loi n°2025-1403) until 1 January 2028.
- Born 1969 or later: 64 years, 172 quarters (final step of the 2023 reform, not affected by the suspension).
Quick answers
I was born in 1966, at what age can I retire?
63 years and 3 months, with 172 quarters required (accounting for the 2026 suspension).
Born in 1964?
62 years and 9 months, 170 quarters — the generation frozen by the 2026 suspension.
Born before September 1961?
62 years, 167 quarters — not affected by the 2023 reform.
Born in 1969 or later?
64 years, 172 quarters — the reform's final step, not affected by the 2026 suspension.
What is the automatic full-rate age?
67, for every generation, unchanged by the 2026 suspension.
Started working before age 16 — what's the possible early retirement age?
58, subject to the required contributed quarters.
Does this calculator show my pension amount?
No. It only gives the retirement age and required quarters, not the amount.
Do the long-career counting rules change after September 2026?
Long-career quarter-counting rules change from 1 September 2026 (Article 104 of the 2026 Social Security Financing Act); this point isn't yet updated on service-public.gouv.fr (F13845) as of the verification date.
Legal age and required quarters by birth year
| Birth | Legal age | Quarters required |
|---|
| before Sept. 1961 | 62 years | 167 |
| Sept.–Dec. 1961 | 62 years 3 months | 169 |
| 1962 | 62 years 6 months | 169 |
| 1963 | 62 years 9 months | 170 |
| 1964 (frozen by the 2026 suspension) | 62 years 9 months | 170 |
| Jan.–Mar. 1965 | 62 years 9 months | 170 |
| Apr.–Dec. 1965 | 63 years | 171 |
| 1966 | 63 years 3 months | 172 |
| 1967 | 63 years 6 months | 172 |
| 1968 | 63 years 9 months | 172 |
| 1969 and after | 64 years | 172 |
Long career (carrière longue) — early retirement ages
| Started working | Possible retirement age |
|---|
| before 16 | 58 years |
| before 18 | 60 years |
| before 20 | 62 years |
| before 21 | 63 years |
Frequently asked questions
I was born in 1966, at what age can I retire?
At 63 years and 3 months, with 172 quarters required for the full rate, accounting for the 2026 pension reform suspension (Loi n°2025-1403).
I was born in 1964 — is my legal age different because of the 2026 suspension?
No: it's 62 years and 9 months with 170 quarters required. Your generation is the explicit reference point frozen by the 2026 suspension (décrets n°2026-344 and 2026-345), so your parameters don't change from what the calculator shows.
What is the automatic full-rate age?
It's the age at which you get a full-rate pension with no quarters condition, regardless of how many quarters you've contributed. It stays fixed at 67 for every generation, including under the 2026 suspension.
How does long-career (carrière longue) early retirement work?
If you started working before age 16, 18, 20 or 21, you may retire at 58, 60, 62 or 63 respectively, provided you contributed 5 quarters before the end of the calendar year of that birthday (4 if born in the 4th quarter) and the total quarters required for your generation's full rate.
Can I do this simulation without FranceConnect?
Yes. This calculator runs entirely in your browser, no login or FranceConnect needed. For an official career statement and your actual contributed quarters, use info-retraite.fr.
This calculator only gives the retirement age and required quarters, not the pension amount. Long-career (carrière longue) early retirement requires checking your actual contributed quarters on your career statement (info-retraite.fr) — this calculator cannot know them. The rules for counting long-career quarters from 1 September 2026 are pending official update on service-public.gouv.fr (F13845). Indicative result, not contractual. The 2026 pension reform suspension (Loi n°2025-1403) is in force until 1 January 2028.
Sources: service-public.gouv.fr F35063 — Age and quarters, service-public.gouv.fr F13845 — Long career, info-retraite.fr