Other GIP SPSI Partners

Apart from the main national funds of the general and farmers’ schemes of France’s Social Security system, various other social welfare actors contribute to GIP SPSI actions, catering for specific categories of the population performing specific types of work.

The RSI (Social Security Scheme for the Self-employed)

Launched in 2002 and up and running in 2006, the RSI (Régime social des indépendants) replaces earlier compulsory health insurance funds and pension schemes for self-employed workers (entrepreneurs, tradespeople, artisans, independent professional people, etc.)

In concrete terms, it takes over from three different funds, all created after the second world war:

• AVA (pension scheme for artisans),
• CANAM (national health insurance fund for the self-employed),
• ORGANIC (pension scheme for tradespeopleriels).

The RSI has thus becomes the single point of contact for all self-employed workers. As such it handles:

• membership applications,
• collection of health, pension and social contributions,
• payment of sickness benefits and pensions,
• social programmes for contributors and pensioners.

The RSI covers 4.4 million people, including 1.6 million contributors, 920,000 dependants of contributors and 1.9 million pensioners. It pays out about €11.4 billion euros in benefits every year.

The RSI comprises a national fund – currently run by a transitional organisation, the INP (Instance nationale provisoire) - 28 regional funds and 2 funds dedicated to sickness and maternity benefits for independent professional people.

The scheme also includes several local agencies and advisory centres open to the public.

The RSI website:www.le-rsi.fr

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CANSSM (Miners’ Social Security Fund)

The miners were the first category of private-sector salaried workers to have social security coverage.

The organisation fulfilling that role today is CANSSM (Caisse autonome nationale de la Sécurité sociale dans les mines).

Its mission is three-fold:

• health and industrial injury insurance for mining industry employees,
• old-age insurance for miners,
• health and welfare activities for miners.

With the progressive closure of the mines over the last thirty years (and coal-mines in particular) the scheme is currently in a singular predicament, notably in respect of pensions.

The number of contributors has steadily declined while the number of pensioners has continued to grow. As a result, responsibility for the management of old-age/disability insurance was transferred to the Caisse des dépôts (a public financial institution dedicated to local authority development), which manages several other special schemes.

The transfer concerned more than 380,000 pensioners and nearly 17,000 contributors, and benefit payments of nearly €2 billion.

The CANSSM continues to manage health and industrial injury insurance, as well as welfare activities - the latter being a very strong tradition in the mining sector.

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CAVIMAC (Church Insurance Fund for Old-age, Disability and Sickness Benefits)

The result of the merger of two former schemes, CAVIMAC (Caisse d'assurance vieillesse, invalidité et maladie des cultes) provides health, old-age and disability insurance for ministers of the Catholic religion and leaders of other faiths (Evangelical, Anglican, Orthodox, Buddhist, Muslim, etc.), as well as members of religious congregations and groups who are not covered by any other statutory social security system. It also collects contributions from its beneficiaries as well as the CSG (tax dedicated to financing part of the social security benefits) and CRDS (contribution towards the “reimbursement of the social debt”).

Today, about 17,000 people contribute to the fund’s pension scheme which covers around 64,000 pensioners. CAVIMAC also receives funds from other pension schemes (under the “compensation” mechanism) as well as a contribution from the general health insurance scheme, into which it was incorporated for all types of coverage on 1st January 2006.

CAVIMAC’s website: www.cavimac.fr