The PER is a huge hit!
The Ministry of the Economy announced that the Retirement Savings Plan (PER) had surpassed the thresholds of more than 100 billion euros in assets under management and 10 million account holders by the end of 2023,
The PER is a retirement savings plan established under the 2019 Pacte Act. Contributions are flexible but cannot be withdrawn before retirement, except in exceptional cases such as the purchase of a primary residence or well-defined “life events” (disability, excessive debt, expiration of unemployment insurance benefits, etc.).
At the end of one’s working life, there are two options: a lump-sum payment or a monthly annuity.
By the end of 2022, the PER had accumulated €80 billion in assets under management, and more than 7 million French people had opened an account. As of December 31, 2023, more than 10 million people already had a PER, and the assets under management in these accounts totaled €102.8 billion, according to the French Ministry of Finance (Bercy). This growth applies to corporate PERs—both group plans (€23.4 billion in assets) and mandatory plans (€19.5 billion in assets)—as well as individual PERs (€59.9 billion in assets and more than 3.69 million account holders).
Bruno Le Maire, Minister of the Economy and Finance, hailed this as a success for French men and women, who now have access to a savings product tailored to help them prepare for retirement, as well as for companies that need long-term investments to support them through major transitions.
