Hire Employees in French Polynesia

French Polynesia sets its own social protection. As an overseas collectivity governed by organic law n° 2004-192 of 27 February 2004, it is competent in this field under its statute, so the regime is Polynesian, not metropolitan.

The scheme is run by the Caisse de Prévoyance Sociale, a private-law body charged with a public service mission and financially autonomous, under the supervision of the government of French Polynesia.

Two routes exist. A local entity gives direct employment with CPS registration; an Employer of Record removes that setup and acts as legal employer.

Rates are fixed by decree and republished each year in the Journal Officiel de la Polynésie française. The figures on this page are those applicable from 1 January 2026.

Employer contributions total 32.08% in most commercial sectors. The nine branches, at the rates applicable from 1 January 2026:

Retirement tranche A. 23.53%, split 15.69% employer and 7.84% employee, capped at XPF 269,000 a month. This is by far the largest line.

Retirement tranche B. 17.43%, split 11.62% employer and 5.81% employee, running from XPF 269,000 to a ceiling of XPF 525,000.

Health insurance. 14.94%, split 9.96% employer and 4.98% employee, capped at XPF 5,000,000.

Family benefits. 4.16%, employer only, capped at XPF 750,000.

Plus an exceptional retirement solidarity fund at 1% to XPF 486,000, work accidents at 0.77% to XPF 3,000,000, and continuing vocational training at 0.5% to XPF 5,000,000. The old-age solidarity branch and the retirement social fund are both currently set at 0%.

Break-even rule of thumb: EOR fees begin to exceed the running cost of a Polynesian entity somewhere between 12 and 20 employees. See EOR vs Entity.

The whole difference between 32.08% and 27.92% is one branch. Family benefits are charged at 4.16% in most sectors, but at nil for schools, canteens and non-profit associations; aquaculture and agriculture; domestic staff; and deep-sea fishing.

So sector classification is worth getting right before quoting, because it moves employer cost by more than four points on its own.

Shipping is treated differently again. For the armement sector only family benefits at 4.16% and vocational training at 0.5% apply; the other branches are not charged.

Deep-sea fishing has ceilings that vary by rank, an unusual arrangement. The monthly ceilings differ for a matelot at XPF 200,000, a mécanicien at XPF 300,000 and a capitaine at XPF 400,000, so the same branch rate produces three different maximum charges depending on the role aboard.

Two further specifics: pensioners and reversion pensioners pay 4.98% health contribution on their pensions, and the work accident rate for students in technical schools and vocational training centres is set at 0.51%.

The vocational training contribution applies to public and parapublic services only where the body is an industrial and commercial public establishment.

Gross monthly salaries in CFP francs. Because pension tranche A caps at XPF 269,000 and tranche B at XPF 525,000, employer cost as a share of salary falls sharply across those points.

Benchmarks below are gross monthly salaries in CFP francs. Because pension tranche A caps at XPF 269,000, employer cost as a share of salary falls steeply above that point.

Payroll runs monthly, with contributions remitted to the CPS.

There is no income tax on salaries in French Polynesia. In its place the contribution de solidarité territoriale on salaries, the CST-S, is calculated in bands on gross income.

The CST-S is not withheld where the amount falls below XPF 750, which in practice means it is not withheld on income below about XPF 150,000 a month.

Each branch has its own ceiling, so a single payroll run applies nine different caps rather than one. That makes the ceiling table, not the rate table, the thing most likely to be configured wrongly.

Complementary retirement under ARRCO-AGIRC has applied since 1 March 2003 to all private-sector employees in Polynesia.

No income tax on salaries. The CST-S applies in bands instead, and is not withheld below XPF 750.

The working month is 169 hours, a 39-hour week, as in New Caledonia rather than the metropolitan 35.

The guaranteed minimum wage gives a gross monthly figure of approximately XPF 173,181 for those 169 hours.

Employment law is Polynesian, set out in the local code du travail, with the contribution rates and ceilings fixed at articles A.6321-1 and A.6321-2 for vocational training and by annual decree for the remainder.

Contracts follow Polynesian requirements as to form and content.

Establish your sector classification before setting pay, since it determines whether the family benefit rate is 4.16% or nil.

Register the employee with the CPS, and configure all nine branch ceilings rather than a single cap.

The working month is 169 hours, which is the basis for mensualising salaries.

Additional pay interacts with nine separate ceilings. Crossing XPF 269,000 moves an employee from pension tranche A to tranche B at a lower rate; crossing XPF 525,000 removes the pension charge altogether while health continues to XPF 5,000,000.

That makes marginal employer cost fall in steps as salary rises, rather than smoothly.

French Polynesia observes the French national holiday calendar, with Missionaries’ Day on 5 March and Internal Autonomy Day on 29 June as local additions.

French Polynesia observes the French national holiday calendar plus Missionaries’ Day on 5 March and Internal Autonomy Day on 29 June.

Sick pay starts as an employer liability at full salary. The daily indemnity paid by the employer is 100% of the prior actual salary within the contribution ceiling applicable to health, and thereafter 75% of the prior salary within that ceiling.

So the exposure is front-loaded: the first phase carries no reduction at all.

Non-salaried workers resident for more than six months are affiliated to the régime des non salariés where individual gross monthly income reaches XPF 87,346, or household gross monthly income reaches XPF 97,346. For them, health, maternity and family benefits are compulsory while old age and work accident cover are voluntary.

Those who do not meet the residence conditions may ask to join voluntarily.

Termination follows the Polynesian labour code, with notice and severance set by statute and collective agreement.

Final pay including accrued leave is due on separation and must appear in the CPS declaration for the period.

People drawing a full-rate CPS pension from age 55 with 35 years of career may pay ARRCO and where applicable AGIRC contributions to build complementary retirement.

French Polynesia is an overseas collectivity with competence over its own social protection, and immigration is governed locally. Confirm current requirements before committing to a start date.

The CPS is not a state body. It is a private-law legal person charged with a public service mission and financially autonomous, under government supervision, which affects how it is dealt with administratively.

The currency is the CFP franc, shared with New Caledonia and Wallis and Futuna.

Applying one sector’s family benefit rate across the payroll is the most likely costing error. It is 4.16% in most sectors and nil in four, a difference of more than four points on employer cost.

Configuring a single ceiling is the second. Nine branches each have their own cap, from XPF 195,000 to XPF 5,000,000.

Assuming a 35-hour week is the third, the working month is 169 hours.

Note also that there is no income tax on salaries but the CST-S applies; that sick pay begins at 100% employer-borne; and that deep-sea fishing ceilings vary by rank aboard.

Establish your sector classification first, since it sets the family benefit rate and therefore the headline employer cost.

Configure all nine branch ceilings separately, build the payroll on a 169-hour month, and apply the CST-S rather than an income tax withholding.

Take the rates from the current Journal Officiel table, they are refixed by decree each year.