Retirement savings: the serious flaws of the PER

“Spectacular debut”! According to Bruno Le Maire, the success of the new retirement savings plan (PER), launched three years ago, is due to its great accessibility and the tax advantages it offers. The sums paid into this investment during a given year are in fact deductible from the taxable income of the same year, within the limit of an overall ceiling established for each member of the tax household. The reduction can amount to up to 32,909 euros for an employee.

According to Meilleurtaux.com, more than 4.3 million French people subscribed to a PER, between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2021. The total outstanding amount reached 39 billion euros at the end of April 2022.

Subscriptions, deposits… The enthusiasm remained strong in the 1 st quarter. 592,000 additional subscriptions and 9.3 billion euros in payments were recorded for the month of April alone, reports Better Living Your Money.

Despite its strengths, the PER is subject to criticism. In particular because of its excessively high fees and its lack of transparency. This was recognized by the Minister of the Economy. The amount of fees, which may be incorrectly indicated, is problematic. This is the reason why since June 1, 2022, producers and distributors of PER and life insurance must indicate the costs on their website. On average, membership fees range between 20 to 50 euros, and deposit fees between 0% and 5%.

Another flaw is not the least, according to Thomas Carbonnier, associate lawyer at EQUITY AVOCATS: “The PER is thought out over an entire working life. Therefore, I do not see how such an investment could be adapted. In thirty years, the The life of anyone who has taken out a PER will have mechanically changed. They may have needed to break the bank following unexpected upheavals, such as the birth of a child or a change in marital status, for example. Because all this is very difficult to predict, it does not seem relevant to me to block your savings for so long”, he judges.