Definition
Monday morning, a sprained wrist and two weeks unable to work. The first reflex is to look for the address of the SSI in order to send in the sick note.
Nobody ever finds it, and for a good reason: that counter does not exist.
The Sécurité sociale des indépendants (SSI, social security for the self-employed) is the compulsory social cover of people who work for themselves: health, maternity, daily sickness benefit, invalidity, death, basic pension and supplementary pension.
It is not an organisation, it is the name of the rules that remain specific to you inside the general social security scheme. The former RSI (régime social des indépendants, the old self-employed scheme) was abolished and its duties taken over by the general scheme funds.
So there is no membership to apply for: affiliation follows from your declaration of start of activity, and URSSAF then collects what you declare.
What your flat-rate contribution buys, line by line
Take 10,000 euros collected in 2026 from commercial or craft services. The full rate for that activity is 21.2% in 2026, so 2,120 euros of Social contributions over the year.
The real question comes next: what do those 2,120 euros buy? Urssaf publishes the internal breakdown of this BIC flat-rate charge, shown here in euros, rounded.
| What the charge funds | Share of the BIC charge in 2026 | Out of 2,120 euros |
|---|---|---|
| Basic pension | 43.45% | 921 euros |
| Supplementary pension | 19.75% | 419 euros |
| CSG-CRDS (general social levies) | 23.60% | 500 euros |
| Health and maternity | 8.80% | 187 euros |
| Invalidity and death | 3.15% | 67 euros |
| Daily sickness benefit | 1.25% | 26 euros |
These 2026 percentages are shares of the charge you pay, never shares of your turnover: the basic pension does not take 43.45% of your 10,000 euros, it takes 43.45% of your 2,120 euros.
One line then deserves a pause, CSG-CRDS: close to a quarter of what you pay opens no personal entitlement at all, since that levy funds everyone's social protection.
In BIC, the breakdown changed on 1 January 2026 without the overall rate moving, CSG-CRDS giving ground to the lines that build entitlements: same deduction, more rights acquired.
And the 21.2% rate covers neither the vocational training contribution (CFP), nor the chamber of commerce levy, nor income tax, which all come on top.
This table is the one for BIC activities: each family of activity has its own breakdown key. A non-regulated liberal professional under the general scheme, which covers most digital freelancers, pays 25.6% in 2026.
The share of the charge allocated to the basic pension falls to 46.40% in 2026.
What goes towards that pension still rises in euros, since the overall rate moved from 24.6% in 2025 to 25.6% in 2026.
A Cipav member pays 23.2% in 2026, with yet another key. Before reusing any of these percentages, check which family your activity belongs to.
Three contacts, and no SSI counter
Each risk went back to the fund that already handled it for employees.
Your medical costs are reimbursed by your caisse primaire d'assurance maladie (local health insurance fund), with the same carte Vitale and the same registered doctor as any employee.
Your pension is managed by the Assurance retraite, unless you practise a regulated liberal profession: in that case CIPAV holds your account, and its members do not come under the Assurance retraite.
Urssaf itself pays out nothing: it collects and passes on.
Being affiliated does not mean being covered.
Your entitlements are calculated on the contributions actually paid, not on those you owe: on identical turnover, someone up to date validates a quarter where someone behind on payment validates none.
Arrears therefore cost far more than a late-payment surcharge, and Pension quarter validation is where that shows up first.
A reduced rate, by contrast, costs you no entitlement: with Acre (the start-up contribution relief), your rights are still calculated on the charge that would have been due without it, on the same condition that you are up to date with your payments.
What the SSI does not cover
No line of this charge funds unemployment insurance, or workplace accidents.
Losing your main client opens no unemployment right through the micro-enterprise: there is an Self-employed allowance (ATI), but its conditions are strict and few people meet them.
Daily sickness benefit, funded by the small 1.25% line of the BIC charge in 2026, requires a minimum annual income and a waiting period, and does not replace a salary.
That remainder can be bought back, but separately: a Personal protection insurance policy taken out individually covers exactly what the fund leaves aside, and it is signed while you are well, not at your first sick note.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to register with the SSI after setting up my micro-enterprise?
No, and no legitimate body offers to do it: affiliation follows from the declaration of start of activity at the guichet unique (the single online formalities window), after which Urssaf opens your account.
Letters demanding payment to join a fund for the self-employed are commercial offers, not obligations.
Does an employee opening a micro-enterprise belong to two social security schemes?
No, there is only one general scheme, and a single fund reimburses medical costs.
On the pension side, the maximum stays at four quarters per calendar year in 2026, across all schemes: contributing on top adds no quarter to someone already validating four, but it does increase the amount of the entitlements built up.
What happens if I declare no turnover for a whole year?
The declaration remains compulsory, at 0 euros, and nothing is deducted.
Your medical reimbursements do not stop for that reason, since healthcare cover is open to anyone who resides in France on a stable basis.
A year without contributions, however, builds neither pension nor benefits.
Where can I check what my contributions actually produced?
On the relevé de carrière (official career statement), which is what counts.
Outside the regulated liberal professions, the administration no longer publishes a turnover figure per activity: the number of quarters depends on the income reconstructed from the contributions actually paid.
Figures up to date as of 5 September 2026.