You don't have to stop working when you retire. If you wish, you can combine work and retirement to earn additional income. Micro-enterprise status makes it easier to set up as a micro-entrepreneur teacher or trainer. It's an opportunity to pass on the knowledge you've acquired through your experience to a public of employees or private individuals. What are the retiree's administrative obligations? Do I need to sign professional training agreements or contracts? Is it possible to benefit from a VAT exemption? Find out more.
Combining work and retirement in a micro-business
Micro-entrepreneur status is open to everyone, including pensioners. However, it is preferable to ensure that this does not conflict with the payment of your monthly pension. There are specific criteria to be met before you can combine work and retirement.
If you wish to combine your pension with income from a professional activity, you must :
- Have reached legal retirement age and validated all the quarters entitling you to a full-rate pension
- Or be at least 67 to automatically enter the full-rate retirement scheme
- Have requested the liquidation of basic and supplementary pensions
If these conditions are not met, there will be a ceiling on the number of years you can work and retire. Both the old and the new job are taken into account. The rules are not the same for retirees formerly employed in the private sector or the civil service and retirees who were already self-employed in a craft, liberal or commercial activity. For personalized information on this scheme, it is best to contact your pension insurance fund directly. It is also essential to notify the organization responsible for paying your pension of any change in your situation, and in particular any resumption of professional activity.
Administrative obligations for micro-business trainers
Operating under the micro-enterprise scheme, the training profession falls into the category of unregulated liberal professions. However, to become a retired self-employed trainer and pass on your knowledge and expertise to employees or private individuals, there are a number of essential steps to take.
First of all, you need to register your micro-business online or by post, using form P0 PL. But professional trainers are also subject to other obligations, which do not apply to self-employed people providing training in the areas of private life and leisure.
Initial declaration of activity at the time of creation
You need to fill in the paper form Cerfa n° 10782*05 "Bulletin de déclaration d'activité d'un prestataire de formation" or declare your activity online via the "Mon Activité Formation" service.
This procedure enables the micro-entrepreneur trainer toobtain a registration number certifying his or her approval by the Service Régional de Contrôle de la Formation Professionnelle. This must be done within three months of the first training session. As proof of this first service, you need to provide a copy of the training contract or agreement, as well as the program provided, the instructors, etc.
Since January 1, 2022,Qualiopi certification has also been required to provide services financed by the funds of organizations dedicated to continuing professional training.
Throughout your activity as a self-employed trainer
In addition to the internal regulations to be drawn up at the start of the activity and the educational and financial report to be drawn up each year, the independent retired trainer must provide :
- A training agreement for work with professionals
- A training contract for private customers
- A training certificate for each trainee at the end of the course
VAT exemption for training micro-entrepreneurs
Under the micro-enterprise scheme for self-employed professionals, the annual VAT exemption threshold is capped at €34,400 excluding VAT. A tolerance threshold of up to €36,500 excluding VAT is applicable for two consecutive years. As long as the sales generated by the retired micro-entrepreneur's training activity do not exceed this amount, there is no need to charge VAT. The words "exempt from VAT under art. 293b of the CGI" are affixed to documents.
However, it should also be noted that teaching and training services are exempt from VAT, regardless of their legal status. This applies in particular to :
- Continuing education and related services
- Skills assessment
- Support for professional integration
- Lessons given to pupils as part of their academic, artistic or sporting education
However, consulting and recruitment services do not qualify for exemption from value-added tax.
To take advantage of this special scheme as a self-employed trainer, whether retired or not, you need to complete form N°3511-SD "Demande d'attestation au titre d'activités s'inscrivant dans le cadre de la FPC".
This procedure enables you to obtain a tax certificate that entitles you toVAT exemption. If no response is received within 3 months, the "silence is worth acceptance" (SVA) rule automatically grants the applicant a tax certificate. The words "exonération de TVA art. 261-4-4°a du CGI" can then be included on quotations and invoices.