Great news concerning French healthcare for “early retirees”

The chance of having “la belle vie” in France has again become easier for early retirees who are seeking a life-changing move to France.
It has been announced that early-retiree expats in France will once again be given easier access to the country's healthcare reimbursements system, following on-going pressure from the European Commission who had challenged France’s stance as being illegal.

In 2007, France enforced a tight policy of denying state healthcare rights and access to the CMU (couverture maladie universelle) to Europeans who were under state pension age and who were moving to the country without having worked there and without plans to seek work. They were told that in order to have health cover - an obligation for legal residence in France they would need to buy private insurance policies. In the case of persons with pre-existing conditions this could be very expensive and prohibitive, making a move to France out of reach and potentially disconcerting.

This is a hugely significant development for many potential buyers of French property, the profile of which are often people of under retirement age looking to relocate to France in their search for a better quality of life.

France is due to publish a circular before the summer break that opens access to CMU on the basis of EU regulation 883/2004. This regulation, relating to the coordination of social security systems, applies to all EU citizens.