Retiring in Mayotte: Pension, Taxation, Access to Care and Life on the Island

Mayotte has been a French department since 31 March 2011: a French retiree needs no retiree visa and has no means test to prove to a residence authority. They settle as in any other region of France, with three steps to anticipate: CSSM affiliation, tax residence and housing. The guide living in Mayotte describes the general formalities.

The island's population is young: INSEE notes an ageing index far below that of France. The official sources consulted describe no accommodation scheme for older people: this information is to be asked of the ARS (the Regional Health Agency) and the CSSM before deciding, as is the home care offering.

The pension is calculated scheme by scheme, according to the careers completed. A retiree who worked on the mainland continues to receive the pensions of their former schemes. The CSSM pays the retirement pension of private-sector employees outside agriculture who contributed to the Mayotte basic scheme: you must show at least one quarter of insurance, the amount depends on the length of activity, the age of departure and salaries, and the application is filed four months before the desired date, by post or with a pension adviser (CSSM). Farm operators come under the MSA and joining the Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension scheme is optional for private-sector companies in Mayotte (CLEISS).

The report to the President of the Republic on the order of 22 July 2026 provides that from 1 January 2028, earlier contribution periods and their annual salaries are taken into account for general scheme pensions, with specific rules retained, notably for survivor's pensions in polygamous situations and for the free validation of periods of activity from 1987 to 2002.

For a mainland career, the Assurance retraite publishes a table by generation. From 1 September 2026, the legal age is 62 years and 9 months for the 1963 and 1964 generations, 63 years and 9 months for 1968 and 64 for 1969 and 1970; the required insurance period ranges from 170 quarters (1963 generation) to 172 quarters (1966 to 1970 generations). The full rate is obtained automatically at 67 for people born from 1955.

The Mayotte scheme has its own parameters, in gradual convergence. CLEISS indicates for example a legal age of 60 years and 4 months for the 1956 generation and 62 for the 1961 generation, a required insurance period of 140 quarters for the 1960 generation, 156 for 1964 and 172 for 1973, a full rate regardless of length at 67 for the 1961 generation, and a reduction of 2.5% per missing quarter for pensions taking effect before 1 January 2026. A quarter is earned for each 150 hours at the SMIC (French minimum wage), up to 4 a year. CLEISS also cites a contributory minimum (subject to a ceiling on total personal pensions) and a maximum basic pension, the amounts of which are revised each year.

As Mayotte is a French department, no international tax treaty is involved: the pension follows French tax law. Article 197 of the General Tax Code reduces by 40%, within a limit of €4,050, the tax of taxpayers domiciled in French Guiana and Mayotte. Domicile is assessed on 31 December of the year of income: settling before that date opens the reduction for the year concerned.

The report to the President of the Republic also mentions a CRDS convergence trajectory until 2035. The level of social levies on the pension is to be confirmed with the pension fund and the tax authority.

A retiree is affiliated to the CSSM on the basis of their stable and lawful residence in Mayotte: the CSSM presents universal health protection (in force since 1 July 2026) as personal and continuous cover of healthcare costs for anyone who works or lives in Mayotte on a stable and lawful basis. Form S1, useful to a retiree who settles in another EU country, does not apply to Mayotte (see the glossary entry form S1).

• Reimbursement: at the general scheme rates, i.e. 70% for a GP, 80% for hospital stays and 65% for medicines with major or important medical benefit (Assurance Maladie, the French national health insurance), which the CSSM applies at the same rates as on the mainland. Details are in the guide healthcare reimbursement in Mayotte.
• Hospital and specialities: the Mayotte hospital centre has 411 beds and places across 5 sites (ARS); care that cannot be provided on the spot comes under a medical evacuation, whose costs the CSSM bears, with a file to be filed at least 15 calendar days before the appointment (CSSM).
• Help for low incomes: the CSSM page on the ASPA indicates a minimum age of 65, stable and lawful residence in Mayotte with 15 years of lawful residence, and income ceilings set by order. Its application to a retiree coming from the mainland is to be confirmed with the CSSM.
• Survivor's pension: 54% of the deceased's pension, from age 55, increased by 10% if at least three children, subject to an income ceiling (CLEISS).

Prices in Mayotte are 10% higher than in mainland France, including 30% more for food (INSEE). A large share of homes are of sheet metal, and many households have no running water or electricity (INSEE, Housing survey, before Cyclone Chido). These benchmarks suggest favouring a home connected to the networks, checking the state of the construction and asking for a written lease. The guide living in Mayotte details housing and the water distribution regime.

The official sources consulted do not rank the communes against each other. One benchmark for choosing is proximity to care: the ARS lists, besides the main hospital centre site, four care and childbirth centres (Kahani, Dzoumogné, Mramadoudou and Dzaoudzi) with medical cover 24 hours a day, thirteen dispensaries, and 21 "France Santé" structures. The law of 11 August 2025 also programmes a second hospital site at Combani. According to INSEE, the island has 17 communes for more than 320,000 inhabitants.

1. Notify your pension funds and your Assurance Maladie fund of the change of residence before departure.
2. Apply for CSSM affiliation on arrival, with legible supporting documents, then collect the certificate of entitlement and the Vitale card.
3. For a Mayotte scheme pension: file the application four months before the desired departure date, by post or with a CSSM pension adviser (02 69 61 91 91).
4. Declare your tax residence and keep track of the 31 December date for the tax reduction.
5. Plan for supplementary health insurance and an assistance and repatriation policy.