Employee savings and collective company pensions are growing over the years to reach 188 billion euros at the end of 2023, according to the French Association of Financial Management (AFG). Its various schemes – profit-sharing, participation, matching contributions – and packages – company savings plan (PEE), collective retirement savings plan (Percol) – thus benefit more than 12 million employees. And if large companies are significantly better equipped than small ones, the AFG notes an increasing diffusion of employee savings in VSEs.
Many managers of these structures have understood the advantages of these systems, both for attracting, motivating and retaining their employees and for building personal assets under advantageous conditions. For companies with less than 50 employees, social and tax deductions could not be lighter: the sums paid are exempt from the social package on the company side, and they are only subject to 9.7% CSG and CRDS on the beneficiary side. . If they are invested, they are also exempt from income tax. “They are also deductible from corporate tax, which allows the business manager to improve his personal savings, in the same way as the employee, while also reducing the tax friction on a professional basis” , underlines Bruno Lourenço, sales director for the Ile-de-France region at Eres.
Open to business leaders, on one condition
The manager is, in fact, eligible for employee savings schemes and benefits from the same benefits as his employees, even if he does not have an employment contract. “The only prerequisite to respect is to have at least one employee in the company in addition to him if he has an employment contract,” specifies François Dillemann, savings sales director of Malakoff Humanis Epsens.
Several options then open up. To begin with, “it is absolutely necessary to set up a PEE, a PER, or both, to take full advantage of the tax and social advantages of employee savings”, recommends Charline Ballot, actuary specializing in social protection at the Galea firm EPS Partners. Then, it is possible to conclude a participation or profit-sharing agreement in the company’s results, or simply to provide additional contributions. In this case, the company supplements the employee’s voluntary payment. “The contribution can go up to 300% of the payment made, capped at 8% of the annual Social Security ceiling per year for the PEE, and 16% of this same ceiling for the Percol”, specifies François Dillemann.
However, two pitfalls should be avoided. First of all, “we must define the maximum budget that it is possible to allocate in order to put in place the necessary safeguards to avoid going beyond,” recommends Charline Ballot. The matching contribution is often the first tool put in place because it imposes a savings effort on the part of employees. “The latter will pay more spontaneously into a PEE. It is therefore possible to provide a differentiated contribution, with a more generous formula on the Percol, blocked until retirement”, underlines Bruno Lourenço.
Profit-sharing, a very flexible formula
Another option: establish levels, with a more generous contribution on the first payments and which is then reduced. The period of the year during which these are triggered can also be limited to a few months, to control the budget. “It is generally in the fourth quarter, when visibility on the results for the year begins to be greater, specifies Bruno Lourenço. Knowing that the contribution rules can be modified each year as long as nothing has been paid. “
A step further, opt for a very flexible profit-sharing agreement. The formula can be calibrated as closely as possible to the company’s activity and plan for the achievement of specific objectives. It can also be reviewed every year. “If you have planned a modest profit-sharing and the results are better than expected, know that it is possible to pay additional profit-sharing,” emphasizes Charline Ballot. Limited to a maximum of 20% of payroll, the incentive bonus can be paid proportionally to salaries, which favors the manager.
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