Receiving 1,700 euros net in retirement per month is not just about having earned a good salary. The amount of your pension depends on a formula that intersects your average income, the number of validated quarters, and your retirement age. Understanding each variable allows you to identify the levers to act on before it’s too late.
Interrupted careers and actual pension: the trap of theoretical calculation
You earned a decent salary for most of your working life. Your simulation shows an encouraging amount. Then you retire, and the pension paid is significantly lower.
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This discrepancy often arises from a non-linear professional trajectory. A year of unemployment, a shift to part-time work, a few months as a freelancer: each interruption reduces both the average annual income considered and the number of quarters contributed.
The COR (Pension Orientation Council) notes in its 2024 annual report a net increase in “interrupted” careers among those born after 1980. These trajectories severely degrade the estimated pension, even when the average salary appears sufficient on paper. Before aiming for a specific target, you must first check the continuity of your career statement to estimate your retirement at 1,700 net on Comment Investir with realistic assumptions.
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Basic retirement calculation formula: every variable counts
The basic pension for private sector employees is based on an official formula. Let’s take each element separately.
Average annual income
The general scheme takes your best years of gross salary (adjusted for inflation). This average annual income, called SAM, forms the basis of the calculation. The higher your best years, the higher the pension.
An employee whose income has varied greatly will see their SAM pulled down by the lean years.
Liquidation rate
The full rate is set at 50% of the SAM. To obtain it, you must meet the number of quarters required for your generation or reach a certain age. If you retire before having all your quarters, a discount permanently reduces your rate. Conversely, additional quarters can generate a bonus.
Prorating coefficient
This coefficient compares your insurance duration in the general scheme with the duration required for the full rate. Specifically, if you have contributed for less time than required, your pension is proportionally reduced.
The complete formula can be summarized as follows:
- Gross annual pension = SAM x liquidation rate x prorating coefficient
- The SAM depends on your best years of revalued gross salary
- The rate varies between a minimum (with maximum discount) and 50% (full rate)
- The coefficient reflects the portion of your career effectively contributed to the general scheme
To obtain the net amount, you must then subtract social contributions (CSG, CRDS, Casa). The Info Retraite website offers a gross-net converter that allows you to switch from one amount to another.
Agirc-Arrco complementary retirement: the supplement that changes everything
The basic pension alone rarely exceeds half of the last net salary for a private sector employee. It is the Agirc-Arrco complementary pension that fills part of the gap.
Its operation is based on a points system. Each year, your contributions purchase points. At the time of retirement, the total number of points is multiplied by the current point value. The result gives your gross annual complementary pension.
The point value is revised each year by social partners. You cannot predict it long-term, making any projection beyond ten years approximate.
Why does this detail matter to reach 1,700 euros net? Because the basic pension and the complementary pension must add up to reach this threshold. An employee who has contributed throughout their career to the general scheme with a stable salary around the median salary will likely need their complementary pension to represent a third or more of their total pension.
Simulating a target of 1,700 euros net: the concrete method
Starting from a net target and working back to the necessary career parameters requires a step-by-step approach.
Begin by converting your net target into a gross amount. The social contributions on pensions vary according to your taxable income reference but generally represent around ten percent.
Next, break down the gross amount between the basic pension and the complementary pension. Your individual situation statement (available on your Info Retraite account) provides your validated quarters and accumulated Agirc-Arrco points.
- Check that your career statement does not have any missing quarters (undeclared periods, errors)
- Identify your full rate age: retiring early incurs a permanent discount on the basic pension
- Estimate your future complementary points by extending your current contribution rate
- If the sum of the basic and complementary pensions remains below your target, evaluate corrective levers (buying back quarters, delaying retirement, combining work and retirement)
Combining work and retirement as a lever post-retirement
Since September 1, 2023, full combining work and retirement opens new retirement rights in the general scheme and Agirc-Arrco for pensions liquidated from that date. Specifically, a person who is already receiving their pension can, by continuing to work, gradually increase their final pension.
This mechanism remains little known and absent from most standard simulators. The Drees also notes that women more frequently use the combining work and retirement, which constitutes a specific lever to compensate for fragmented careers.
Reaching 1,700 euros net in retirement per month requires mastering the calculation formula, verifying the accuracy of your career statement, and not underestimating the weight of the complementary pension. For those whose careers have gaps, delaying the retirement age or combining work and retirement remain the two most effective adjustments.