Employer contributions to company savings plans (PEE and PER): the 2026 limits

In 2026, employer contributions to a company savings plan (PEE) are limited to three times your contribution and to 8 times the annual social security ceiling, i.e., €3,844.80. This ceiling can be increased to €6,920.64 if you invest in company shares or investment certificates. For a group retirement savings plan (PER), the limit is three times your contribution and 16 times the annual ceiling. Since January 1, 2026, employer contributions to a group PER are no longer exempt from income tax if the plan holder is 70 years of age or older on the date of the contribution.

This page does not specify the ceiling of the collective PER in euros (to be verified with the official source), does not give the rate of the social security contribution, does not deal with the rules for the manager and does not detail the cases of early release of the collective PER.

What is the matching contribution?

The employer contribution is the amount your company adds to your contributions to your savings plan. It is limited in two ways: by a multiple of your contribution, and by a percentage of the annual social security ceiling (PASS). The 2026 PASS is €48,060 (economie.gouv.fr, page dated 31/12/2025). These are ceilings: the amount your employer contributes is specified in your plan's rules.

The 2026 ceilings side by side

The PEE: general limit and limit on company securities

The general case

The employer contribution cannot exceed three times your contribution and is capped at €3,844.80 (economie.gouv.fr, 09/30/2026). The BOFiP (French Official Tax Bulletin) states it as a percentage: 8 times the annual social security ceiling (PASS), up to a limit of three times the beneficiary's contribution. If your plan matches your contribution at 300 times the annual social security ceiling, the €3,844.80 cap is reached as soon as the contribution reaches €1,281.60 (€3,844.80 ÷ 3). In this case, any additional euro contributed beyond that amount does not increase the employer contribution.

The ceiling was raised to €6,920.64

According to economie.gouv.fr, this limit can be increased to €6,920.64 if you invest in shares or investment certificates issued by the company or a related company. On its page for employers, the website states that the employer contribution limit for employee savings plans (PEE) is "raised by €80" if the savings are invested in company securities.

The BOFiP (version in effect since July 28, 2020) describes the same logic: the increase cannot exceed 80 %, and the exemption limit is set at 1.8 times the basic ceiling, "i.e., 14.4 % of the PASS," without exceeding three times the employee's contribution. With a PASS of €48,060, 14.4 % equals €6,920.64. If your plan matches your contribution by 300 %, this ceiling is reached with a contribution of €2,306.88 (€6,920.64 ÷ 3).

The company's payment without any payment from you

According to economie.gouv.fr (September 30, 2026), if the company contributes without a contribution from you, to purchase securities issued by the company or a company within its group, the overall employer contribution limit increases from €3,844.80 to €7,689.60. This amount is provided on the page dedicated to the Employee Savings Plan (PEE).

What happens to the tax-related contribution?

The BOFiP (BOI-RSA-ES-10-30-10, § 45) indicates that employer contributions are exempt from income tax within the limits mentioned above, and that amounts exceeding these limits are taxed according to the rules applicable to salaries and wages. The CSG and CRDS social security contributions remain due: economie.gouv.fr (20/03/2026) cites an overall rate of 9.7%. For employer contributions in the form of company shares, the income tax exemption limit should be verified with the official source.

The collective company retirement savings plan (PER): 16 % of the PASS

The BOFiP (BOI-RSA-ES-10-40-10, § 90) states that employer contributions to a collective company retirement savings plan (PERECO in the text) are limited to three times the beneficiary's contribution and cannot exceed 16 % of the PASS (annual social security ceiling). They are exempt from income tax.

For an existing PERCO (collective retirement savings plan), the BOFiP (BOI-RSA-ES-10-30-20, version of 17/02/2026) maintains the same limit: three times the annual social security ceiling (PASS) and 16 %. New PERCO plans have been prohibited since October 1, 2020 (service-public.gouv.fr); existing plans remain valid.

The amount in euros of the ceiling of the collective PER
This page cites the percentage (16 % of the PASS) and the 2026 PASS (€48,060). The amount in euros should be verified with the official source (economie.gouv.fr, service-public.gouv.fr) and in the regulations of your plan.

Another limit to check

The service-public.gouv.fr factsheet on the PERCO (collective retirement savings plan) also mentions a limit on the total employer contributions. We do not specify this limit; it should be verified against this factsheet before making a decision.

The 70-year rule, effective January 1, 2026

According to the BOFiP (§ 105), Article 9 of Law No. 2026-103 of February 19, 2026 (Finance Law for 2026) stipulates that employer contributions paid into a PERECO (collective retirement savings plan) are no longer exempt from income tax when the account holder is 70 years of age or older on the date of payment. This provision applies from January 1, 2026 (French General Tax Code, Art. 163 quinvicies, last paragraph). This page does not specify how the employer contribution is then taxed, nor whether the rule applies to an existing PERCO.

Not to be confused with other ceilings

The €36,045 (2026) ceiling limits the income tax exemption for profit-sharing and employee shareholding contributions deposited into the PEE (service-public.gouv.fr, 01/01/2026). Employer matching contributions have their own limits, described above.

Numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Karim, an employee, has a company savings plan (PEE). Assuming the plan rules allow for the maximum employer contribution of three times the initial contribution, Karim plans to contribute €1,000, €2,000, or €3,000 during the year. For the "company securities" column, assuming he invests in company shares or investment certificates, he will invest in the company.

Issue. Karim believes the matching contribution is worth three times his payment, regardless of the amount. He doesn't know which euro limit applies to him: €3,844.80 or €6,920.64.

Strategy. For each payment, compare "3 times the payment" and the maximum amount in euros. The smaller of the two gives the matching contribution.

Result.

For a contribution of €2,000, the difference in matching contributions between the two ceilings is €2,155.20. For €3,000, it is €3,075.84. At €1,000, there is no ceiling in euros.

This profile is fictitious. It assumes that the bonus scheme matches the initial investment three times, up to the maximum limits, and that Karim can invest in company shares. The figures illustrate the mechanism and do not reflect your specific situation. Social security contributions (CSG and CRDS) and changes in the value of the investment vehicles are not taken into account. Investments in shares carry a risk of capital loss.

What changes depending on your situation

• The terms of your plan: whether or not a matching contribution is planned, the rate, and the maximum limit applied.
• The chosen investment: company shares or other instruments.
• Your age on the date of each payment, for a group PER.
• Company size: Companies with 50 or more employees that make a supplementary payment must pay the social security contribution (service-public.gouv.fr). This page does not provide a rate.

No results are promised.

Companies with 11 to 49 employees

Service-public.gouv.fr (page verified on 21/07/2026) describes an obligation for companies with at least 11 and fewer than 50 employees that have generated, for three consecutive fiscal years, a net taxable profit at least equal to 1 % of their turnover. This applies to fiscal years beginning on or after January 1, 2025. The company chooses one of three options, including a matching contribution to an employee savings plan (the others: a profit-sharing or incentive agreement, or a value-sharing bonus). Sole proprietorships are not subject to this obligation.