Employment law
Old-age retirement in Mali
June, the tanning shop of Tanneries du Bani, in Ségou. Mamadou, a foreman, celebrates his 58th birthday between two vats of hides. The director has three questions: must he retire him, can he keep him two more years, and how much will it all cost? The answers lie in two codes that have to be read together.
Tanneries du Bani and the people mentioned in this article are fictitious: they are used as examples only.
1. Two conditions: age and contribution period
Tanneries du Bani employs 120 people. Mamadou, classified in category C, has worked there for twenty-two years and has contributed to the National Social Security Institute (INPS) since he was hired.
The retirement pension is guaranteed to an insured person who has reached 53 and has at least thirteen years of salaried employment giving rise to contributions (Social Security Code, article 143). The normal liquidation age is 58; between 53 and 55, the pension suffers a reduction of 5% per year of anticipation; from 55 completed years, there is none (Social Security Code, article 144).
On the employment contract side, the retirement age depends on the sector and category (Labour Code, article L.60):
| Workers | Retirement age | Continuation by mutual agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector, category A | 60 | Up to 62 at most |
| Private sector, categories B to E | 58 | Up to 60 at most |
| State contract staff, category A | 60 | Not provided for in the article |
| State contract staff, categories B to E | 58 | Not provided for in the article |
Public establishments have their own scale: 65 for category A, 62 for category B and 58 for categories C, D and E.
Why two texts? The Labour Code sets when the contract ends; the Social Security Code sets when and how the pension is paid.
The most common mistake
Applying the 5% reduction to any early departure, including at 55 or 57. The reduction only applies between 53 and 55. The ages of 55 and 57 set by the Labour Code for leaving at the employee’s initiative (article L.60 bis) open a pension without reduction.
The Labour Code says when the contract stops. The Social Security Code says when the pension starts.
2. How much? 2% per year contributed
The pension is calculated on average monthly remuneration: total remuneration subject to contributions over the last eight years, divided by 96. The INPS then applies 2% per year of insurance. No pension may be calculated on an average remuneration lower than twice the SMIG (Social Security Code, article 156).
Example. Mamadou has an average monthly remuneration of XOF 280,000 and twenty-two years of insurance.
Rate: 22 years × 2% = 44%
Retirement pension: 280,000 × 44% = XOF 123,200 per month
The figure of thirteen years is not a ceiling: it is the entry threshold. Each additional year contributed adds 2% of average remuneration. See our article Standard pension.
What you need to do
- Check the employee’s exact insurance period on their INPS statement one year before departure.
- Reconstruct contributory remuneration over the last eight years, bonuses included.
- Give the employee an indicative calculation of their pension.
3. Working beyond the age: what two more years bring
In the private sector, the employment relationship may continue by mutual agreement until 60 for categories B to E, and 62 for category A (article L.60). During this time, the employee and the employer continue to pay contributions on all remuneration (article 187).
No text excludes these years from the pension calculation. The INPS applies 2% per year of insurance, and its own calculation example uses 26 years of insurance for an insured person aged 65. The scheme targets a pension of 80% of average salary for forty years of work (article 198).
Example. Mamadou stays until 60, with the same average remuneration.
Rate at 60: 24 years × 2% = 48%
Pension at 60: 280,000 × 48% = XOF 134,400
Gain: 134,400 − 123,200 = XOF 11,200 per month, for the whole of retirement
The misconception to correct
It is sometimes said that the extension “does not give entitlement to additional years of insurance”. That rule does not appear in the Social Security Code: the years contributed count.
What you need to do
- Record the extension in a document signed by both parties, with its end date.
- Respect the limit of 60 or 62 depending on the category.
- Continue to declare and pay contributions until the last month.
4. The departure: what the employer owes
At the age set by article L.60, the employment relationship reaches its normal end, unless it is agreed to continue it. An employee who permanently stops working to start receiving their pension receives a retirement payment, calculated like severance pay (Labour Code, article L.55 and article L.53).
Example. Mamadou leaves at 58 with twenty-two years of service and an average monthly salary of XOF 290,000 over his last twelve months.
Years 1 to 5: 5 × 20% = 100%
Years 6 to 10: 5 × 25% = 125%
Years 11 to 22: 12 × 30% = 360%
Payment: 290,000 × 585% = XOF 1,696,500
The employer also pays the pay in lieu of paid leave (article L.162) and issues the certificate of employment (article L.61). It declares the departure to the INPS within eight days (article 163). The pension takes effect on the first day of the month following the end of work, if the application reaches the INPS within six months (article 146).
Informing rather than surprising
The Labour Code sets no deadline for announcing retirement. Informing the employee in writing several months in advance gives them time to gather the documents for their file.
What you need to do
- Inform the employee in writing of their leaving date, several months in advance.
- Calculate and pay the retirement payment and the leave compensation on the day of departure.
- Send the pension application to the INPS and declare the departure within eight days.
5. After departure: a service provider, never an employee
The pension application must be accompanied by proof that work has stopped and an undertaking not to resume salaried activity (Social Security Code, article 155). A retiree therefore cannot be re-hired as an employee: it would make them break the undertaking on which their pension depends.
If the company still needs their know-how, it can only engage them as a service provider: an independent professional who carries out a defined assignment, with their own means, for a price, without being placed under the client’s authority.
Example. Six months after his departure, Tanneries du Bani asks Mamadou to train his successor: a two-month assignment, for a fixed price, which he organises himself.
What the service contract must provide
- the precise purpose of the assignment, its duration and its price;
- the provider’s independence: they organise their own work, with no imposed hours and no disciplinary power for the client;
- a clause stating that the client is not liable for accidents connected with performing the service, the provider insuring themselves against this risk.
Why this clause? A service provider is not a worker within the meaning of the Labour Code. They are therefore not covered by the accidents-at-work scheme run by the INPS, which only covers such workers (Social Security Code, article 2). The clause sets out who bears the risk.
The two limits to know
The clause does not protect against everything. No one can exclude liability for harm caused to a person, or for the consequences of their fraud or gross misconduct (General Law of Obligations, article 117). If the accident is caused by faulty equipment or dangerous premises provided by the company, it remains liable despite the clause.
Nor is the name of the contract enough. If Mamadou works under the company’s authority, with set hours, instructions and sanctions, he becomes a worker within the meaning of the Code again, whatever the stated status (Labour Code, article L.1). The contract then risks reclassification: the court gives it back its true nature as an employment contract, with all the employer’s obligations.
What you need to do
- Never re-hire a retiree as an employee, even part-time.
- Sign a written service contract: defined assignment, price, independence and a clause on accidents connected with the work.
- Require the provider to hold accident insurance and check the safety of the equipment and premises made available.
6. A closer look: what contributions cost
According to the scale published by the INPS, retirement is funded by a 9% contribution: 3.6% paid by the employee and 5.4% by the employer. With the other branches (family benefits, accidents at work, ANPE tax), the employer share reaches 15.4% to 18.4% of gross salary, excluding compulsory health insurance (3.5% for the employer and 3.06% for the employee).
Example. Pension contributions on Mamadou’s salary of XOF 290,000.
Employee share: 290,000 × 3.6% = XOF 10,440
Employer share: 290,000 × 5.4% = XOF 15,660
Total paid each month for his pension: 10,440 + 15,660 = XOF 26,100
Key takeaways in 6 points
- Check the two conditions for the pension: thirteen years of insurance and 58 for a pension without reduction, or 55 completed years.
- Apply the Labour Code retirement age by category: 58 for categories B to E, 60 for category A in the private sector.
- Calculate the pension at 2% per year of insurance on average remuneration over the last eight years.
- Record in writing any continuation of the contract beyond the age, up to 60 or 62.
- Pay the retirement payment, calculated like severance pay, and the leave compensation.
- Never re-hire a retiree as an employee: engage them as a service provider, under a written contract that deals with accidents.