The savings plan for collective retirement (PERCO) is a savings scheme set to help employees of a company to build on supplementary funds through capitalization for their retirement.
Setting up PERCO can be done at the company’s initiative or can be made by a collective agreement. It must be set up in a way that is accompanied by the creation of a Company Savings Plan (PEE or PEI or PEG).
The securities eligible for PERCO are SICAV shares (Investment Company of Variable Capital) with a general vocation as well as the funds of securities eligible for the company’s savings plan for employees.
PERCO can receive the following payments:
- The beneficiary's voluntary payments, including profit-sharing;
- The sums resulting from participating;
- Business matching (optional);
- Transfer of money held on another employee savings plan.
These payments are capped in the following manner:
- For the individual employee, they are limited to 25% of his/her annual remuneration;
- For the employer's contribution, they are limited to 300% of the voluntary payments of the beneficiary employee and 16% of the annual Social Security ceiling (for example € 6 008 in 2014).
The assets paid by the employee himself or the company cannot be used until the beneficiary retires.
There are only certain special cases that allow an authorized early release such as:
- The disability of the employee (or his spouse or children);
- The death of the employee (or his spouse);
- The allocation of assets to the creation or takeover of a business;
- The acquisition or expansion of the principal residence;
- Over-indebtedness of the employee;
- Expiry of unemployment insurance entitlements.