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Retirement savings plan
Individual PER: every euro paid in reduces your tax from the following year.
Your contributions are deducted from your taxable income, up to your ceiling. Here are the 2026 rules, and what they save you.
What you gain
€10,000 paid in, by tax bracket.
| Bracket | Contribution | Tax saved |
|---|---|---|
| 11% | 10 000 € | 1 100 € |
| 30% | 10 000 € | 3 000 € |
| 41% | 10 000 € | 4 100 € |
| 45% | 10 000 € | 4 500 € |
Up to your deduction ceiling, shown on your tax notice. The saving appears in the tax for the year after the contribution.
2026 Finance Act
What's changing this year.
Any ceiling you do not use in a given year can now be carried forward for five years, compared with three previously. The rule applies to ceilings arising from 2026 onwards; those from 2023 to 2025 keep their three-year period. The amount available is shown each year on your tax notice.
Since 1 January 2026, a contribution made on or after your 70th birthday is no longer deductible from taxable income. What counts is the date of the contribution, not the date the contract was opened. You can still pay in: the amount is simply not deducted, and it will not be taxed on exit.
How it works
Three compartments, one contract.
The sums you pay in yourself, as one-off or monthly contributions. They are deducted from your income, unless you opt otherwise when you pay in.
Incentive pay, profit-sharing, matching contributions and unused days off, paid in by the company. They go in free of income tax.
Those from a former Article 83 plan or a mandatory company PER. This is the only compartment that can only be paid out as an annuity.
Withdrawal
As a lump sum, as an annuity, or earlier.
For deducted contributions, the portion corresponding to the contributions is taxed on the progressive income tax scale, and the gains at the flat rate of 31.4% (12.8% income tax and 18.6% social charges). You can withdraw in one go or in several instalments.
The annuity is taxed like a retirement pension, on the progressive scale after the 10% allowance. Social charges apply only to a fraction of the annuity, which depends on your age at the first payment.
The savings can be released early for the purchase of your main residence (excluding mandatory contributions), and in the event of the death of a spouse or civil partner, disability, over-indebtedness, expiry of unemployment benefits or compulsory liquidation (Article L. 224-4 of the Monetary and Financial Code).
Frequently asked questions
What people ask us about the PER.
Can my spouse use my ceiling?
Yes, if you are married or in a civil partnership. By ticking box 6QR on your income tax return, your two ceilings are combined: the partner who pays in can deduct beyond their own ceiling, up to the joint ceiling (Article 163 quatervicies of the French Tax Code).
Pooling is never automatic: it must be requested every year.
I have an old PERP or a Madelin contract: do I need to transfer it?
Not always. Transferring to a PER opens up lump-sum withdrawal and a wider investment choice, but some older contracts guarantee an annuity table or a rate you will not find again. So we compare the two before deciding.
The transfer is free after five years of holding; before that, fees are capped at 1% of the savings transferred (Article L. 224-40 of the Monetary and Financial Code).
PER or assurance-vie: which should you fund first?
It all depends on your tax bracket. €10,000 paid in at a 41% bracket saves €4,100 in tax the very next year; in an 11% bracket, only €1,100. The savings, however, are locked in until retirement, barring early release, and taxed on exit.
From a 30% bracket upwards, the PER often comes first; below that, assurance-vie, which remains accessible.
What happens to my PER when I die?
For a PER taken out with an insurer, the savings go to the beneficiaries you have designated, outside the estate. If death occurs before age 70, each beneficiary receives €152,500 free of inheritance tax (Article 990 I of the French Tax Code); after age 70, contributions are taxed above €30,500 across all beneficiaries, with the gains remaining exempt (Article 757 B of the French Tax Code).
