Employee savings: growing adoption in the French economic fabric
The annual survey by the French Financial Management Association (AFG) reveals increased adoption of employee savings by small businesses. The number of VSEs with an employee savings plan has increased by 5% since 2022 and by 47% since 2012. This trend is even more pronounced for companies with fewer than 10 employees, which have experienced an increase of 5. 3%. The outstanding amount reached 188 billion euros, an increase of 16% over one year.
As for the number of companies with an employee savings plan, it increased by 5% in 2023, to reach 397,200, and 12.5 million employees are now concerned (i.e. +4.5%). These figures attest to the effectiveness of the incentive measures introduced by recent laws (Macron of 2015, PACTE of 2019, ASAP of 2020 and the transposition law on the sharing of value of 2023), aimed at democratizing access to employee savings and retirement.
The pivotal role of sustainable and solidarity funds
The movement in favor of sustainable investment is also accelerating, with gross inflows exceeding 9 billion euros in sustainable funds. The latter, in compliance with SFDR regulations, now represent 70% of assets excluding employee shareholding, reaching 79.5 billion euros. Furthermore, solidarity funds are experiencing remarkable growth, with assets under management of 18 billion euros, up 17.6% over one year. These developments reflect a growing commitment by companies and employees to financial and environmental sustainability, reflecting a collective awareness of the importance of responsible investment.
The collective PER, a popular retirement savings solution
Collective PERs continue to gain ground, with overall outstandings of 29.7 billion euros at the end of 2023, marking an increase of 14.3% compared to 2022. Deployed in 158,700 companies (for the benefit of the 948,600 employee holders), these schemes concern more than 3 million employee savers, thus benefiting from a retirement savings solution adapted to their needs. The PACTE law, at the origin of the creation of collective PERs, plays a determining role in this expansion, facilitating access to a prepared and secure retirement for a growing number of employees.