Why Employee Savings Plans Are a Hit in France

The Ministry of Labor’s statistical office, DARES, has published data on employee savings plans for 2022. The proportion of employees covered by an employee savings plan has changed little from one year to the next.
 

In 2022, 52.9% of employees in the non-agricultural private sector were covered by at least one employee savings plan (profit-sharing, incentive plans, PEE, or group PERCO/PER). This rate has remained stable since 2020.
 

This represents 10.2 million employees who have access to at least one employee savings plan through their employer. The most common plan is the Company Savings Plan (PEE), which covered 44.4% of employees in 2022. This is followed by profit-sharing (39.1%), incentive plans (34.6%), and the 

Perco/Group Retirement Savings Plan (26.3%).
In very small businesses (fewer than 10 employees), only 19.0% of employees are covered, compared with 88.6% in companies with 1,000 or more employees. In 2022, the coverage rate increased slightly in small businesses (10 to 49 employees) by 1.8 percentage points to reach 20.7%, but decreased by 3.2 percentage points in companies with 500 to 999 employees, to 77.2%. In large companies (1,000 or more employees), 82.5% of employees are covered by a PEE and 57.7% by a PERCO.
 

Coverage rates vary by industry. The hospitality and restaurant industry has the lowest coverage rate (25.6%), while the financial sector has the highest (80.3%).
 

More than 26 billion euros in bonuses paid in 2022
In 2022, 8.9 million employees received a bonus (profit-sharing, incentive, or employer-matched contribution), representing a 6.3% increase compared to 2021. This accounts for 46.3% of private-sector employees. The total amount of bonuses paid by private-sector companies in 2022 reached 26.3 billion euros, an increase of 8.2% compared to 2021.
 

The bonuses break down and are distributed as follows:
• 5.9 million employees received a profit-sharing bonus totaling 10.7 billion euros (+10.1%);
• 5.5 million employees received an incentive bonus totaling 11.4 billion euros (+8.9%);
• €1.7 billion in employer contributions were paid into employee savings plans (PEE) and €0.7 billion into retirement savings plans (Perco).
 

Bonuses were primarily saved in a PEE or PERCO/PERECO account
Employees had the option of receiving the bonuses immediately or investing them in a PEE or PERCO account.
 

The amounts paid out immediately total 4.0 billion euros for profit-sharing and 4.1 billion euros for incentive payments. The amounts invested totaled 5.6 billion and 6.1 billion euros, respectively:
• 4.2 million employees saved through a PEE in 2022, for a total of 12.1 billion euros, 73% of which came from profit-sharing or incentive bonuses;
• 1.4 million employees saved through a Perco/Pereco plan, for a total of 2.6 billion euros, 50.1% of which came from profit-sharing or incentive bonuses.
 

The Rise of the Collective PER
Effective October 1, 2020, companies can no longer enroll in Collective Retirement Savings Plans (PERCOs) established under the 2003 pension reform law. They may only enroll in Collective Corporate Retirement Savings Plans (PERECOs). They may also transfer their existing PERCO plans to new PERECO plans. More than 30% of employees working at private-sector companies with more than 10 employees have a retirement savings plan linked to employee savings.
 

Employee savings plans in France in 2022 show stability in their adoption, with a higher prevalence in large companies and certain industries. The amounts of bonuses paid are on the rise, reflecting an economic recovery following the COVID-19 crisis. Measures to promote the development of employee savings plans within small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—notably the reduction in the social security flat rate—are having some impact, but the adoption rate remains low. 

In recent years, traditional employee savings plans have faced competition from the value-added sharing bonus, which, under certain conditions, qualifies for tax exemption. This bonus is less restrictive for companies than employee savings plans.