Employee savings plan (PEE): contributions, employer matching and 5-year lock-in period, the rules in 2026

With a company savings plan (PEE), your voluntary contributions are capped at 25% of your gross annual salary. The company can supplement these contributions with a matching contribution, limited to three times your contribution and up to €3,844.80. The invested funds are locked in for at least five years from the date of each contribution, except in cases of early withdrawal.

This page deals with the employee's company savings plan (PEE). It does not cover the social security contribution rate on earnings, the flat-rate social security contribution, transferring a PEE to a group retirement savings plan (PER collectif), the situation of non-residents, or the relevant section of the income tax return. Access for company directors is covered on a separate page.

The PEE in two sentences

The PEE (Employee Savings Plan) is a collective savings scheme: it allows employees to build up a portfolio of securities with the help of their company, with a tax advantage (service-public.gouv.fr). It can also be set up within a group of companies (PEG) or in several companies that do not belong to the same group (PEI).

Who can enter, and what happens to them if you leave?

• The employees. All employees of a company with a company savings plan (PEE) can join. The company may require a maximum of 3 months' seniority.
• Retirees and pre-retirees. They can keep their PEE. Their contributions no longer qualify for employer matching contributions. They can contribute up to a limit of 25% of their pensions.
• If you leave the company. You can keep your PEE under certain conditions. You can no longer make new contributions, except for the last profit-sharing or participation bonus to which you are entitled.

What feeds into a PEE

According to economie.gouv.fr, the PEE can receive:

• profit-sharing and employee participation; ;
• the value sharing premium (VSP or VSP); ;
• sums transferred from other employee savings plans, except for the Perco; ;
• rights from a time savings account; ;
• your voluntary contributions.

Profit-sharing payments that are not paid immediately are invested in the company savings plan (PEE), if one exists. To maintain income tax exemption, these amounts must be invested within 15 days of payment. The income tax exemption for profit-sharing and employee shareholding amounts is capped annually: €36,045 in 2026 and €35,325 in 2025.

Voluntary contributions

The 25 % limit is calculated based on your salary. Your plan rules may stipulate a minimum. It cannot exceed €160.

The employer contribution: what the company adds

The employer contribution is the additional payment from the company. Two limits apply simultaneously. The smaller of the two amounts is used.

The ceiling of €3,844.8 corresponds to 8 % of the annual social security ceiling for 2026. The matching contribution cannot exceed 300 % of the employee's payment (economie.gouv.fr).

With the general case limit, the maximum amount in euros is reached as soon as the payment reaches €1,281.60 (€3,844.8 ÷ 3). Beyond that, each additional euro paid no longer increases the matching contribution.

What happens to the employer contribution in terms of taxation

• Income tax: The contribution is exempt within the limits provided.
• CSG and CRDS: it remains subject to it, at the overall rate of 9.7 % (economie.gouv.fr, page written on 20/03/2026).
• Social security package: A company with 50 or more employees that makes a supplementary payment must pay it. This page does not provide a rate.

The 5-year freeze

The funds invested in the PEE are locked for a minimum of 5 years. This period begins from each payment, not from the date the plan was opened.

Two payments, two due dates. A payment due on November 16, 2026 is available, at the earliest, on November 16, 2031. A payment due on March 15, 2027 is available, at the earliest, on March 15, 2032.

Cases of early release

Early release of funds before the 5-year mark remains possible in certain listed cases. According to economie.gouv.fr, the list includes, in particular:

• marriage or entering into a civil partnership; ;
• the birth or adoption of a third child; ;
• divorce, separation or dissolution of a civil partnership with custody of at least one child; ;
• domestic violence; ;
• disability and death; ;
• the termination of the employment contract; ;
• the creation or takeover of a business; ;
• the acquisition or expansion of the main residence, and energy renovation work; ;
• over-indebtedness and the activity of a caregiver; ;
• the purchase of a clean vehicle or a new electric bicycle.

The application must be submitted within 6 months of the event. It can be submitted at any time in cases of termination of employment, death, disability, domestic violence, excessive debt, or involvement as a caregiver. Supporting documentation of the event must be included.

In the event of death, there is no time limit for beneficiaries to request the release of funds. However, according to service-public.gouv.fr, if the release involves the sale of securities, the capital gains tax exemption requires a request to be made within 6 months of the death.

Funds withdrawn early are exempt from income tax. Each case has its own conditions, which are detailed on a dedicated page.

What the PEE changes for taxes

Gains from payments made before January 1, 2018, may be subject to historical social security contribution rates. This page does not provide any social security contribution rates. Exempt amounts do not need to be declared. Non-exempt amounts must be declared with wages (service-public.gouv.fr).

Change of plan

According to service-public.gouv.fr, the transfer of a PEE to the PEE or PEI of another employer follows two regimes.

• Without termination of the employment contract. The holding period for the new plan must be at least equal to that of the original plan. The unavailability period already elapsed is deducted from the holding period of the new plan. This rule does not apply when the transferred funds are used for a capital increase reserved for members of a company savings plan (PEE).
• With termination of the employment contract. Only sums from the special participation reserve can be transferred to the PEE or PEI of the new employer.

The page on service-public.gouv.fr that describes this transfer is old (checked on 23/08/2024): reread it before making any decision.

Numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Camille, an employee, has a gross annual salary of €42,000. Her company has a company savings plan (PEE). Assuming the plan rules allow for the maximum employer contribution, up to three times the contribution, Camille plans to contribute €1,500 on November 16, 2026.

Issue. Camille believes that the matching contribution will be €4,500, or 3 times her payment.

Strategy. Compare the two limits. Camille's contribution limit is €10,500 per year (25 % of €42,000). The matching contribution limit in the general case is €3,844.80.

Result.

With a €1,500 contribution, Camille receives a matching contribution of €3,844.80, not €4,500: €655.20 less than three times that amount. The total investment is €5,344.80. It is available from November 16, 2031, at the earliest, unless early withdrawal is requested. The €1,500 contribution is not tax-deductible.

This profile is fictitious. The figures illustrate the mechanism and do not reflect your specific situation. Social security contributions (CSG and CRDS) on employer contributions are not included in this calculation. Amounts invested in a PEE (Employee Savings Plan) are placed in securities: this investment carries a risk of capital loss, and the total invested above does not take into account the potential changes in the value of the chosen assets.

What changes depending on your situation

• The rules of your PEE: whether or not matching contributions are planned, the matching contribution rate, and the minimum payment.
• Your gross annual remuneration, which sets the ceiling of 25 %.
• The chosen investment: shares or investment certificates of the company or other instruments, which changes the matching contribution ceiling.
• The size of the company, for the social security contribution.
• Your status: employee, retiree, former employee.
• The date of each payment, which sets each 5-year deadline.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.