In short…
The PERCO and its successor, the collective company PER born of the PACTE law, are the retirement equivalent of the PEE: they take in your employee savings, the employer matching — often more generous because it targets a long horizon — and your unused leave days. The portion from employee savings and matching exits exempt from income tax; only the social levies hit the gains. Exit is possible as a lump sum or an annuity. It is one of the most effective ways to prepare for retirement when your company has a good employee-savings agreement.
- Long-term matching — exempt from income tax and often higher than on a PEE
- Exit your way — lump sum or annuity, unlike the old PERCO
- Triple feed — incentive bonus, profit-sharing and unused time-savings days
Simulate your collective PER
The simulator isolates the cumulative employer matching. Your data is neither stored nor transmitted.
PERCO / collective company PER simulator
Project your collective company retirement and the associated employer matching.
Results are provided for purely illustrative and educational purposes, based on the parameters you enter and simplified assumptions (2026 taxation, constant return, excluding inflation). They constitute neither personalised investment advice, nor tax advice, nor an offer to subscribe. Some investments carry a risk of capital loss. Before any decision, speak with an advisor.
Why the collective PER is the retirement weapon of well-placed employees
The collective company PER combines two logics that, separated, lack the same force: the discipline of retirement savings built until departure, and the power of employer matching. Because it targets a long horizon, the matching is often more generous than on a PEE — the employer accepts a higher match on savings it knows are locked until retirement.
Its strength lies in paying in rather than cashing out. The incentive bonus, profit-sharing and unused time-savings (CET) days, directed into the collective PER, escape income tax and capture the matching, instead of being cashed and taxed. For an employee whose company has negotiated a good agreement, the cumulative effect over a career is considerable.
The PACTE reform lifted the last brake of the old PERCO: a lump-sum exit is now possible, where the old scheme favoured an annuity. The portion from employee savings and matching exits exempt from income tax — only the social levies weigh on the gains. Deducted voluntary contributions, for their part, follow the individual-PER regime.
The 3 levers this simulator highlights
Lever 1 — capture the enhanced long-term matching
Because the collective PER locks savings until retirement, the employer often matches more generously than on a PEE. Saturating this matching is the first reflex: it is a guaranteed, income-tax-exempt return, superior to any market investment. Paying in at least up to the retirement plan’s matching ceiling, before even feeding other wrappers, maximises the “free money” share of your retirement savings.
Lever 2 — channel the incentive bonus, profit-sharing and CET into the plan
Received, the incentive bonus and profit-sharing are taxed; paid into the collective PER, they are exempt and trigger the matching. Unused leave days, held in a time-savings account, can also feed the plan. Systematically directing these flows to the collective PER rather than cashing them turns taxed bonuses into tax-exempt, matched retirement savings — a choice to renew every year.
Lever 3 — arbitrate lump sum or annuity against the overall estate
Since PACTE, you choose at retirement between a lump sum, an annuity or a blend. This choice is not trivial: the portion from employee savings exits exempt from income tax (gains subject to social levies), while deducted voluntary contributions follow the individual-PER regime. The right arbitrage depends on your other retirement income, your liquidity needs and your transmission goal — a calculation to frame before departure, never in a rush.
Worked example — Nathalie, 50, sales manager at a mid-cap in Lille
Each year Nathalie directs her incentive bonus and profit-sharing — around €3,000 — into her company’s collective PER, which matches at 50%. Over 12 years, at a 4% return, here is the effect of the matching alone.
| Criterion | Bonuses cashed and taxed | Bonuses paid into collective PER | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual contribution | ≈ €3,000 | ≈ €3,000 | — |
| Taxation at entry (30% TMI) | ≈ €900/yr | €0 | exempt |
| Employer matching (50%) | €0 | ≈ €1,500/yr | +€1,500/yr |
| Capital built over 12 yrs | ≈ €25,400 (net of tax) | ≈ €55,800 | ×2.2 |
Illustrative example — figures simplified for clarity and not contractual.
By channelling her bonuses into the collective PER rather than cashing them, Nathalie avoids income tax at entry and captures €1,500 of matching each year. Over twelve years, her retirement capital reaches more than double what she would have kept by cashing and taxing her bonuses. On exit, the portion from employee savings and matching will be exempt from income tax — only the social levies will touch the gains.
The lesson: when the company has a good employee-savings agreement, cashing your bonuses rather than channelling them into the collective PER is a costly mistake. The gap is not due to market return, but to the exemption at entry and the matching. The remaining task, when the time comes, is to arbitrate between a lump-sum and an annuity exit — according to the whole wealth situation.
Company retirage, supercharged by matching
The collective PER pairs two strengths: the retirement logic (capital built until departure) and the employer matching, often more generous than on a PEE because it targets a long horizon. Paying your incentive bonus and profit-sharing into it, rather than receiving them, avoids income tax on these sums while capturing the matching.
It is one of the most effective ways to prepare for retirement when you are an employee of a company with a good employee-savings agreement.
Lump sum or annuity, and exit taxation
At retirement, a lump-sum exit is possible (unlike the old PERCO, which favoured the annuity). The portion from employee savings and matching exits exempt from income tax; only the social levies apply to the gains. Deducted voluntary contributions, for their part, follow the individual-PER regime.
The right lump-sum / annuity arbitrage depends on your overall wealth situation — a point to frame with an advisor before retirement.
Pay in rather than cash out, then arbitrate the exit
This simulator isolates the employer matching. But the collective PER’s efficiency plays out across the whole: systematic channelling of the incentive bonus, profit-sharing and CET, saturation of the matching, and above all the lump-sum / annuity arbitrage at exit, aligned with your other retirement income and your transmission goal. It is this overall view that turns a good company scheme into a retirement strategy.
Balmont Conseil is an independent wealth-management firm, a member of ANACOFI, with no capital ties to a bank. This independence lets us analyse your company scheme as it is and fold it into your overall retirement strategy, with no interest in pushing a product. Run your projection above, then book a call to optimise your employee savings and prepare your exit arbitrage.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between the PERCO and the collective company PER?
The collective company PER, born of the PACTE law, is the successor to the PERCO. The major difference is the exit: the old PERCO favoured the annuity, whereas the collective PER now allows a lump sum, an annuity or a blend. Existing PERCOs can be transferred to the new scheme. The advantages — matching exempt from income tax, feeding from employee savings — are retained and reinforced.
How is the exit from the collective PER taxed?
The portion from employee savings and employer matching exits exempt from income tax; only the social levies apply to the gains. By contrast, the voluntary contributions you have deducted follow the individual-PER regime: they are added back to income tax, and the corresponding gains taxed at the flat tax. The distinction is essential when arbitrating the exit.
What can I pay into a collective PER?
The collective PER is fed by your incentive bonus, your profit-sharing, your unused leave days held in a time-savings account, the employer matching, and your voluntary contributions. Directing the incentive bonus and profit-sharing into the plan, rather than receiving them, avoids income tax on these sums while capturing the matching.
Should I exit as a lump sum or an annuity at retirement?
There is no universal answer. The lump sum offers liquidity and transmission flexibility; the annuity guarantees an income for life but generally ends at death. The right arbitrage depends on your other retirement income, your liquidity needs, your life expectancy and your wealth goal. It is a decision to frame with an advisor before departure, never in haste.
Results are provided for purely illustrative and educational purposes, based on the parameters you enter and simplified assumptions (2026 taxation, constant return, excluding inflation). They constitute neither personalised investment advice, nor tax advice, nor an offer to subscribe. Some investments carry a risk of capital loss. Before any decision, speak with an advisor.