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Free simulator
Individual French retirement savings plan (PER) simulator: retirement capital and tax saving
The individual PER is the only investment where the State co-funds your savings: every contribution is deducted from your taxable income, and the higher your marginal tax rate, the bigger the tax saving. At a 41% marginal tax rate, €1,000 paid in actually costs you only €590 — the State funds the remaining €410.
€1,000 paid in at a 41% marginal tax rate actually costs only €590
Gains are never taxed as long as they stay invested
Early release possible to buy your main residence
The simulator
Simulate your individual PER
The simulator calculates your projected capital and cumulative tax saving based on your marginal tax rate. Your data is neither stored nor shared.
Individual PER simulator
Project your retirement capital and the immediate tax saving on your deductible contributions.
Indicative calculation, based on 2026 rules and the assumptions entered above.
Why
Why the PER is only as powerful as your tax bracket
The individual PER rests on a simple but often misunderstood mechanism: it does not eliminate tax, it defers it, betting that your marginal tax rate will fall. You deduct today, at your working-life rate; you pay tax tomorrow, at your retirement rate — usually lower. The whole advantage lies in this difference in bracket, and nowhere else.
This is why the scheme is designed for high earners. At a marginal tax rate of 41% or 45%, the leverage effect at the outset is considerable, and the bet on the tax bracket differential is almost guaranteed to pay off. Conversely, for a tax bracket of 0% or 11%, the advantage at the outset is minimal, the capital is locked in until retirement, and other investment vehicles—assurance-vie, PEA—offer a flexibility that the PER does not.
The classic mistake is to see the PER as a one-size-fits-all product to take out “because it's good for retirement”. That is wrong: it is a tax management tool whose relevance depends entirely on your bracket today, your likely bracket tomorrow and its place in your overall allocation. Badly calibrated, it locks up savings for a mediocre tax gain.
What the calculation shows
The 3 levers this simulator reveals (and your banker does not manage)
Deduct at 41%, withdraw at 30%: that is the heart of the PER's performance, far more than the return on the underlying funds. On the portion matching the deducted contributions, the withdrawal is added back to income for income tax; the gains are taxed at the 31.4% flat tax in 2026. If your tax bracket stays the same between working life and retirement, the net gain comes down to tax-free capitalisation — real, but far smaller than the headline deduction suggests. The lever only works in full if your tax bracket falls in retirement.
Your contributions are deductible up to 10% of your professional income, subject to a floor and a ceiling. What few savers exploit: unused ceilings from the previous three years remain available, and a married couple or PACS partners can pool their ceilings. A year with an exceptional bonus, a business sale or inflated income then becomes the opportunity for a heavily deductible contribution, catching up several years of ceiling. Without this planning, a lost ceiling is lost for good.
Taking your whole PER as capital in the same year can push up your taxable income and send you into a higher bracket — cancelling part of the gain made on the way in. Managing the exit, spread over several tax years and coordinated with your other retirement income, determines the scheme's real tax return. That is precisely the calculation distributors rarely show: they highlight the saving on the way in, never the bill on the way out.
Case study
Case study: Hélène, 48, senior executive in Lyon
Hélène, on a 41% marginal tax rate, pays in €5,000 initially and then €400 a month for 17 years into an open-architecture PER targeting 4% net of fund charges. Here is what the simulator projects at retirement:
| Indicator | Without a PER (taxed investment) | With a deductible PER | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cumulative savings outlay | ≈ €86,600 | ≈ €86,600 | — |
| Cumulative immediate tax saving | €0 | ≈ €35,500 | +€35,500 |
| Actual cost of the outlay | ≈ €86,600 | ≈ €51,100 | -€35,500 |
| Projected capital at the end of the term | ≈ €122,000 | ≈ €122,000 | — |
For the same savings effort, the PER lets Hélène build her retirement capital for €35,500 less, with the State covering the difference through the deduction. The capital built up is the same; what changes radically is the real cost of getting there. Her bracket must still fall in retirement: that is the case for Hélène, whose pension income will probably bring her down to 30%.
The lesson is clear: the PER is only worthwhile in a high bracket, and only if the exit is managed. Taken out without this framework, it locks up savings for an uncertain tax gain. It is exactly this diagnosis — your bracket today, your bracket tomorrow — that must come before any subscription.
In practice
The PER is a management tool, not a reflex
This simulator gives an order of magnitude for the tax saving and the capital built up. The real value lies in the trade-offs: should you favour the PER, assurance-vie, the PEA or a mix, depending on your tax bracket, horizon, liquidity needs and the structure of your wealth? How much to pay in, in which years, through which wrapper? How to withdraw, and spread over how many tax years?
Balmont Conseil is a wealth management advisory firm based in Lyon, a member of ANACOFI-CIF, with no capital ties to any bank. Open architecture allows us to select the PER contract from among our partners — controlled fees, open architecture — and to align it with the rest of your wealth. Let's book an appointment to determine whether, and how, the PER fits into your strategy.
Frequently asked questions
What clients ask us.
How much of my PER contributions can I deduct each year?
As an employee or equivalent, your contributions are deductible up to 10% of your previous year's professional income, subject to an annual floor and ceiling. Unused ceilings from the last three years remain available, and a married couple or PACS partners can pool their ceilings. Used well, this carry-forward allows a heavily deductible contribution in a year of exceptional income.
How is a PER taxed on exit?
At retirement, you choose a lump-sum exit, an annuity, or a mix of both. The portion matching the contributions you deducted is added back to your income for income tax; the gains are taxed at the 31.4% flat tax in 2026. The whole point therefore lies in the bracket differential: deducting at 41% today and withdrawing in a lower bracket tomorrow. Spreading the withdrawal over several years avoids artificially pushing up your tax bracket.
Is the PER worthwhile if my tax bracket is low?
Rarely. At a marginal tax rate of 0% or 11%, the upfront benefit is minimal and doesn't compensate for tying up your savings until retirement. In this case, assurance-vie or a PEA – more flexible and tax-efficient in their own way – are generally preferable. The PER becomes truly worthwhile from 30%, and becomes a powerful tool at 41% or 45%.
Can I access my money before retirement?
The PER is locked-in savings, but with exit doors. Early release is possible to buy your main residence, and in the event of a major life event (disability, death of a spouse, over-indebtedness, end of unemployment benefits, court-ordered liquidation). Outside these cases, the money stays locked in until you retire.
What is the difference between Balmont Conseil and a bank adviser?
Balmont Conseil is a wealth management advisory firm, a member of ANACOFI-CIF, with no capital ties to any bank. We select the PER contract from among our partners on the basis of its fees and its architecture, and we integrate it into an overall strategy. A bank adviser distributes their network's PER and highlights the saving on entry; we first calculate whether the scheme genuinely serves your interest, exit included.
