As long as they participate in the coverage of a supplementary insurance plan, employers benefit from an exemption from social security contributions on their contributions, subject to compliance with a precise formalism. The Absolute Human Resources working group takes stock of these obligations which have just evolved.
Companies must study two elements to verify the conformity of their actions implementing mutual and provident schemes. : the criteria of objectivity, and the case of suspensions of employment contracts during the Covid crisis. To be exempt from contributions, the employer's share financing the “health costs and welfare” guarantees must meet a certain number of criteria. One of these criteria is based on the collective nature of the coverage offered.. Let us remember that to be collective, the system put in place must concern all employees, or an “objective category” of employees. However, following the merger of the AGIRC-ARCCO pension plans (framework/non-framework regime) as of January 1, 2019, objective criteria based on employees contributing to the executive or non-executive pension plan or on salary brackets can no longer be used. Faced with these inconsistencies, a decree of July 2021 provided details to update the objective criteria and thus allow you to continue to benefit from exemptions from charges. So, From now on, reference is made :
– either at the salary threshold equal to the social security ceiling or 2, 3, 4, or 8 times this ceiling (attention : the company cannot constitute an objective category by only retaining employees receiving more than 8 times this ceiling) ;- or to the “managerial and non-managerial” categories resulting from the 2017 national interprofessional agreement. Thus fall under the executive category, employees commonly called articles 4 (executives designated by the collective agreement in particular) and articles 4 Bis (compulsory executive equivalents).
Pay attention to vocabulary and special cases
We must therefore be vigilant on two points. Firstly, on the vocabulary used in contracts and founding documents of health and welfare expense guarantees. On the other hand, on employees who, to date, do not fit into these categories, but who benefit from identical coverage to executives (for example the old “articles 36”). For these people, the decree provides for the possibility of including them if an interprofessional or professional agreement or branch convention allows it and if this agreement or convention is approved by APEC. These new provisions came into force on January 1, 2022.. However, companies have until December 31, 2024 to comply.
Suspensions of employment contracts
The second element to study is the assessment of the “collective and obligatory” nature of the regime in place in the event of suspension of the employment contract.. Indeed, following the Covid crisis and the massive recourse to partial activity, the employees did not receive salaries but partial activity allowances which were not included in the contribution base for pension coverage (except special provisions provided for in the contract). To resolve the problem and given the urgency of the situation, a law of June 2020 provided for the maintenance of pension guarantees in the event of partial activity. But this law no longer applies since June 30, 2021. In order to maintain this system favorable to employees, an instruction from June 2021 provides details. So, two cases are distinguished, with or without compensation for absence. More, whether the employee is compensated or not, the part covered by the employer will be exempt from contributions. For companies whose current contracts do not meet these requirements, they have until January 1, 2022 to subscribe to a compliant contract. They therefore have every interest in quickly contacting their insurers to ensure that they do not risk any recovery..
