Three New Cases Allowing Early Withdrawals from the Company Savings Plan (PEE)

Is part of your money invested in a Company Savings Plan (PEE)? In principle, this amount is locked in for five years. However, a recently published decree has relaxed this restriction on the PEE.

Since the simplification of the employee savings system took effect on January 1, 2019, there have been two main types of savings plans: the Collective Retirement Savings Plan (Perco) and the Company Savings Plan (PEE). However, it is important to note that funds invested in these plans are locked in until retirement for the Perco, and for five years for the PEE, unless there is a justified reason for early withdrawal. A decree published on July 5, 2024, added three new exceptions to this rule. What are they?
 

What are the three new circumstances under which funds can be withdrawn early from a PEE?
 

Are you considering contributing your profit-sharing and/or incentive pay to a Company Savings Plan (PEE)? This choice allows you to avoid paying income tax and may therefore be a wise decision for all taxable households, up to a limit of 34,776 euros for the year 2024. However, employees who save this way must be aware of one major drawback: once the money is deposited into a PEE, it is locked up for five years.
 

In fact, under a company savings plan, the money deposited by the account holder is, in principle, locked in for five years. However, there are several cases in which early withdrawal is permitted, allowing the account holder to retrieve their money without having to wait until the end of that period. Following the publication of a decree in the Official Journal on July 5, 2024—which took effect on July 6—three new scenarios for early withdrawal were added, making the PEE more flexible.
 

Now, it is possible to receive a tax credit to fund energy-efficient renovations to your primary residence, to purchase a clean vehicle, or if you are a caregiver. Regarding the purchase of a clean vehicle, certain conditions must be met. The vehicle must use “electricity, hydrogen, or a combination of the two as its sole source of energy” and, according to Capital, have a maximum of 8 seats.
 

A growing list of exceptions that benefit employees who save
 

Thanks to the decree published on July 5, the list of circumstances under which funds can be withdrawn early from a PEE has been expanded. Previously, there were already other situations that allowed people to withdraw their money without waiting the full five years. This was the case, for example, upon marriage, the formation of a civil partnership (PACS), the birth or adoption of a third child, or the purchase of a primary residence—provided the request was made within six months of the event.
 

In other cases, a request for early withdrawal may be made at any time, without having to meet this 6-month waiting period. These include cases of termination of the employment contract (dismissal, resignation, or retirement), the death of the employee, their spouse, or their civil partner, disability of the employee, their spouse, their partner, or their children, as well as excessive debt.
 

Please note, however, that the new exceptions introduced by the decree published on July 6 apply only to the PEE. The Perco, on the other hand, remains more restrictive, since there are only six circumstances under which funds can be withdrawn early before retirement.