Stronger Oversight of PEL and CEL Accounts

To prevent any abuse in which savers might hold multiple PEL or CEL accounts to receive the government bonus multiple times—or even at an improperly increased rate—a decree dated November 8, 2023, authorizes banks to conduct a name-matching check through automated processing of personal data.

When opening a Home Savings Plan (PEL) or a Home Savings Account (CEL), the bank must verify that the customer has not already opened one of these accounts. This practice, which has been in effect for several years for Livret A savings accounts, was extended in March 2021 to PEL and CEL accounts, as well as to Livret de Développement Durable et Solidaire (LDDS) and Livret d’Épargne Populaire (LEP) accounts.

The Ministry of the Economy points out that these duplicate accounts are often accidental, particularly when someone opens a home savings plan as an adult even though they already have one that was opened for them by their parents when they were a child.

It is crucial to verify the amount of the subsidy granted, especially for savings plans such as the PEL and CEL opened before December 31, 2017, as they are eligible for a government subsidy of up to €1,525. This subsidy may be increased based on the number of dependents the account holder has, up to a limit of €100 per person.

To prevent any abuse in which savers might hold multiple PEL or CEL accounts to receive the government bonus multiple times—or even at an improperly increased rate—Decree No. 2023-1031 of November 8, 2023, authorizes banks to conduct a name-matching check through automated processing of personal data.

PEL and CEL accounts, designed to finance real estate projects, are regulated savings products that allow you to build up a down payment and receive benefits when taking out a mortgage, including the housing savings loan and the government subsidy.

The procedures for verifying that a PEL or CEL account is held by a single individual require the bank to forward to the government—or to its service provider responsible for managing home savings bonuses—applications for home savings bonuses and, where applicable, applications for additional savings bonuses. The decree specifies that this transmission includes personal data such as last name, first name, date of birth, the code corresponding to the municipality of birth, the home savings account or home savings plan number, the opening date, the bonus amount, the loan amount (if applicable), the closing date of the account, and the amount of the additional home savings bonus. If a request for the housing savings bonus is made, information regarding the number of dependents of the borrower is also transmitted.

Please note that if you hold multiple identical savings accounts, you have two months to resolve the issue. After this period, the savings account is closed, and the funds are transferred to another account. However, it is entirely possible to open a CEL and a PEL at the same time, provided that both accounts are with the same bank, and there is no restriction on having multiple PELs within the same tax household, provided that there is only one per member of the tax household.