180 billion euros: employee savings reached a “historic” level of outstanding assets in the first half of the year

180 billion euros. This is the colossal sum which, at the end of June, was placed by the French in their employee savings schemes. A “historic” level of outstandings, affirms the French Association of Financial Management (AFG) in a press release published this Monday. It far exceeds the record recorded in December 2021 (167.6 billion euros), and increases by almost 11% compared to the end of 2022.

In total, more than 14 billion euros were paid into company savings plans (PEE) and collective retirement savings plans (PERCO and collective PER) during the first six months of the ‘year. Payments – mainly coming from profit-sharing schemes (5.4 billion) and participation schemes (4.8 billion) – up sharply, since they are more than 9% higher than those recorded in the first half of 2022. Collection net income thus stood at nearly 5.2 billion euros in the first half.

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The AFG also welcomes the development of these employee savings plans in companies. “The number of companies equipped with an employee savings or retirement savings system is increasing, particularly in VSEs/SMEs,” notes the professional organization. There are now 386,800 companies (5.2% over one year) that have them today – including 215,500 (9% over one year) relating only to company retirement savings schemes. Created by the Pacte law in 2019, the collective PER “continues its progression in companies”, notes the AFG, with now 3 million savers who benefit from it via their company, for an outstanding amount of 21.5 billion euros .

If the dynamic of employee savings plans is positive, the government wants to go further and develop these schemes even further. Last May, he presented a bill on “value sharing” in business, aiming in particular to extend these schemes (employee savings plan or participation or profit-sharing scheme or value sharing bonus) to companies with 11 to 49 employees as long as they are profitable. It also includes an article requiring employee savings plans to offer employees at least one so-called “committed” fund (financing the energy and ecological transition or socially responsible investment). Adopted in the National Assembly last June, it must be discussed in the Senate in public session this Tuesday and Wednesday.