Pour bien vieillir

Alternative to private retirement-home brokers and the advice of companies selling senior services

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Description

Pour bien vieillir is a free website of the French public pension funds that helps retired people stay healthy and independent: advice on physical activity, food, sleep, memory, falls, social life and adapting the home, plus a map of prevention workshops near home. It is an alternative to the advice of private companies selling services to older people.

The site is run by the Assurance retraite, Agirc-Arrco, the farmers’ fund MSA and the local-government staff fund CNRACL, which also pay for it. The public health agency Santé publique France created it and wrote the first content; in 2024 the Union des Gérontopôles de France, a network of ageing research centres, helped revise the scientific content. It carries no commercial advertising, offers more than 140 quizzes and videos, and has easy-to-read versions of its pages.

The pension funds and their partners run group workshops for small groups of retired people, led by professionals, over 3 to 10 sessions, near home or by video call. Themes include starting retirement, adapted physical activity, balance, memory, sleep, nutrition, housing and digital skills. The “Bienvenue à la retraite” workshop is free; the site doesn’t give the price of the others. According to the site, 170,242 people have taken part in a prevention activity.

Strengths

  • Advice checked by public health and ageing experts, without advertising or anything to buy.
  • A map of workshops near home, led by professionals and organised by the pension funds.
  • Covers health, social life, volunteering, carers and home adaptation in one place.

Weaknesses

  • General advice, not a personal assessment of someone’s health or needs.
  • The cost of most workshops isn’t shown, and what is offered depends on the region.
  • For care homes, home help or financial aid, other public sites and services are needed.

Who it is for

Recently retired people in France and those planning their retirement who want to stay active and healthy, and relatives who help an older parent.

Sources

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  • MoneyHelper guide to private medical insurance

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  • ADEME: saving energy, water and money

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