Employee savings (profit-sharing and/or participation): exceptional release in advance, net of tax, to be carried out before December 31, 2022, capped at 10,000 euros

As in 2008, in 2013 as well as partially in 2020, the exceptional release in advance of employee savings will be allowed, this time, within the limit of a ceiling of 10,000 euros. The request for the release of the profit-sharing and/or participation paid on a PEE must be made before December 31, 2022. The sums thus released will be net of income tax and social security contributions. A downside, a theoretical condition on the use of the released funds is however imposed.

Exceptional release 2022

As part of the law on purchasing power, the measure of early release of participation and profit-sharing should appeal to some of the savers concerned. Already applied on several occasions in the past, the possibility of unlocking one’s participation and/or profit-sharing has always met with significant success.

⚠️ Please note: this exceptional release measure for profit-sharing and participation is a measure adopted by the Senate. The National Assembly, which always has the last word, must once again vote in favor of this measure for it to be adopted definitively. The vote is due to take place this week.

Incentive and Participation

Employee savings is vast. However, this exceptional release measure obviously only concerns the short-term savings part (PEE), and not retirement savings (PERCOL, PER Entreprise, collective retirement savings plan, the former PERCO having been transformed into PERCOL since the Law PACT). The PEE brings together the company’s payments and contributions for profit-sharing as well as participation in the company’s results. The employee savings scheme provides that when an employee receives profit-sharing (compulsory in companies with more than 50 employees) or profit-sharing (optional regardless of the size of the company), he can choose to touch right away. But in this case, the amount received is taxable on income. By leaving these sums invested for 5 years, the sums are then exempt from income tax, social security contributions remain due.

Why should you absolutely take advantage of it?

As you will have noticed, this exceptional release, up to a limit of 10,000 euros, is more advantageous than patiently waiting for the 5 free years in order to escape income tax on the sums received. Indeed, in the context of this exceptional release, not only will the amount released be net of income tax, but social security contributions will not be due either. A significant difference.

A condition taken out of the hat

In order for this windfall effect not to be too great a success, the parliamentarians, no doubt under the influence of the lobbies of the asset managers, took care to add a condition, to say the least grotesque, to this exceptional release. Savers would not be free to use their money as they see fit. Indeed, the condition being that the sum is not saved elsewhere but is devoted to ” the acquisition of goods or the provision of services “. The sums will be declared by the managing organization or, failing that, by the employer to the tax authorities and it is simply provided that the employee takes ” at the disposal of the supporting documents attesting to the use of the released sums “.

Employee savings in securities

Particular case. The release of employee savings invested in shares of the company or an affiliated company will logically require a collective agreement so that these savings can be mobilised, in whole or in part.

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