The social security scheme for self-employed workers (rsi)

The social security scheme for self-employer workers (RSI), created in July 2006, was intended to bring the three funds responsible for the social security of self-employed workers (craftsmen, traders and liberal professions) together under the umbrella of a single national fund for the purposes of simplifying the administration involved and streamlining the management costs incurred. Since 1 January 2008, the RSI has therefore become the single social representative body (ISU) for the social security of the self-employed, and the URSSAF consequently oversees the collection of taxes and social contributions from self-employed workers on behalf of the RSI.

 

This merger of the separate regimes has failed to simplify the overall structure of the system, which remains somewhat complex, with tasks divided between the RSI, the ACOSS (Central Agency of Social Security Bodies), the URSSAF and other authorised bodies. Moreover, the merging of the respective IT systems has brought about a series of malfunctions, whilst the recovery of contributions has been the primary source of the significant tension observed among certain users and the suffering encountered by RSI agents. The difficulties encountered in the introduction of the single social representative body (ISU) had resulted in a loss of contributions for the RSI amounting to €1.5bn by late 2010 (according to a 2012 report by the Cour des Comptes (Court of Accounts). By late 2013, of the €17.5bn in contributions due, €15.7bn still remained outstanding (with the exclusion of automatic taxation, according to a 2014 report by the Senate).

 

The extension of the status of self-employed workers to include sole traders in 2008 contributed to the weakening of the RSI, causing an influx of insured parties (their numbers increasing by 26% between 2006 and 2011, according to the INSEE 2015), who were often new to managing a business and had lower average incomes than others covered by the RSI. Finally, the turnover generated by self-employed workers was heavily affected by the crisis (with 65% declaring a decrease in turnover, according to the IFOP 2013). 

Whilst the initial aims of the reform, namely to provide insured parties with a single representative and to make the system easier to manage, have been only partially achieved, the situation is gradually becoming normalised. In 2014, the RSI system received some 28,000 claims - a decrease of 11% in relation to 2013 - with the amounts outstanding decreasing to 13.7% (with the exclusion of automatic taxation), as opposed to 17% the previous year. A series of joint RSI/ACOSS teams have been set up with a view to facilitating the recovery process and the Trajectoire 2018 project, designed to restructure RSI funds, is set to be launched in 2019. 

As far as our Assembly is concerned, beyond efforts to simplify the system, and the recovery process in particular, and to streamline the way in which it is structured, reflection on the RSI should take a much broader perspective, with the notable aim of reflecting developments within the employment market.