Sickness branch
The French National Health Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale de l'assurance maladie des travailleurs salariés / CNAMTS) manages sickness risks, maternity, disability, death and, with a different management, industrial accidents and occupational diseases.
- At a local level and at a departmental one: 101 Local Health Insurance Funds (Caisses primaires d'assurance maladie / CPAM) in Metropolitan France and 4 general Social Security Funds (Caisses générales de sécurité sociale / CGSS) in overseas departments.
- At a regional level: 14 Funds for Pensions and Occupational Risks (Caisses d'assurance retraite et de la santé au travail / CARSAT)* and 2 Regional Health Insurance Funds (Caisses régionales d'assurance maladie / CRAM) are involved in prevention and industrial accident and occupational disease pricing.
* Since the 1st of July 2010, CRAMs - excepted Ile-de-France and Alsace-Moselle ones- have changed identity. They are now CARSATs. This change has occurred due to the creation of Health Regional Agencies « ARS ». ARS are now in charge of the missions that used to be devoted to CRAMs as far as health, social and medical policies are concerned.
Old-Age branch
The National Old-Age Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale d'assurance vieillesse / CNAV) defines retirement branch thrusts, as far as old-age insurance and widowhood insurance are concerned.
It has to be mentioned that, in Ile-de-France area, CNAMTS directly manages retirement for people who depend on health insurance scheme. It also manages calculation and payment of retirement pensions. In other regional areas, CNAV delegates this role to CARSATs, or - in Alsace-Moselle - to retirement insurance regional Fund, or - in overseas departments - to CGSS.
Family branch
The National Child Benefit Fund (Caisse nationale des allocations familiales / CNAF) manages different social and child benefits.
At the local level, the Child Benefit Funds (Caisse d'allocations familiales / CAF) are responsible for the service related to those benefits: child benefits, family allowance, accommodation allowance, income support and so on.
Collection branch
The Central Agency for Social Security Organizations (Agence centrale des organismes de sécurité sociale / ACOSS) is the national fund of the collection branch of the Social Security general scheme.
It is responsible for Social Security cash flow management and co-ordinates the action of the Unions responsible for collecting Social Security contributions and child benefits (Union de recouvrement des cotisations de sécurité sociale et d'allocations familales / URSSAF). At a local level, URSSAFs collect contributions and taxes.
Social security national fund Union
Social security national fund Union (UCANSS) is in charge of tasks for which the entire social security general scheme has a common interest, particularly as far as human resources are concerned (collective agreements, staff training, negotiations with salaried workers, and so on).
