About EpargneMalin.fr

EpargneMalin.fr is an independent financial information site covering all investments and strategies in France: life insurance (assurance vie), PER retirement plans, PEA stock savings, SCPI real estate funds, savings accounts, cryptocurrency, tax optimization and online banking. Our mission: make savings accessible and understandable for everyone in France.

Our methodology

Every simulator and article published on EpargneMalin.fr follows a rigorous methodology ensuring the reliability of information:

Official sources

• BOFiP (Official Tax Bulletin) : Basis of our tax documentation
• DGFIP (French Tax Authority) : Tax brackets and ceilings
• Insurance Code : Life insurance contract regulations
• FFA (France Assureurs) : Market statistics and data
• ACPR (Prudential Supervisory Authority) : Supervisory data

Editorial process

1. Research : Identification of primary sources and cross-verification
2. Writing : Drafted by personal finance specialists
3. Review : Proofread by a tax expert
4. Updates : Systematic revision with each Finance Act

Calculations and simulators

Our simulators use official formulas and current tax schedules. Every calculation is documented and transparent. Assumptions are clearly stated and model limitations are explained. Each simulator is designed to handle the specific nuances of French financial products: the progressive tax brackets that affect PER deductions, the social contributions (prelevements sociaux) of 17.2% applied to investment gains, the complex interaction between flat tax (prelevement forfaitaire unique of 30%) and the progressive income tax option, and the specific taxation rules that differ between life insurance contracts opened before and after September 2017. Our models are recalibrated each year following the publication of the Finance Act (loi de finances) to reflect the latest thresholds, rates, and ceilings.

The French Savings Landscape

France offers one of the most diverse and structured savings ecosystems in the world. Understanding the available options is essential for building long-term wealth, yet many savers struggle to navigate the complex landscape of regulated products, tax-advantaged envelopes, and investment vehicles. EpargneMalin.fr exists to bridge this knowledge gap.

Regulated Savings Accounts

At the foundation of French savings sit the regulated accounts: the Livret A, the LDDS (Livret de Developpement Durable et Solidaire), and the LEP(Livret d'Epargne Populaire). These government-backed products offer capital-guaranteed, tax-free returns with interest rates set by the Banque de France. The Livret A, held by over 55 million French residents, serves as the default emergency fund. Its ceiling is 22,950 euros per person, and its interest rate is revised twice per year based on a formula tied to inflation and short-term interbank rates. Our simulators help savers understand the real purchasing power of these accounts after inflation and compare them against alternative placements.

Life Insurance (Assurance Vie)

Life insurance is the cornerstone of French wealth management, with over 1,900 billion euros in outstanding assets. An assurance vie contract provides a tax-advantaged envelope that can hold both guaranteed euro funds and unit-linked investments (unites de compte). After eight years, gains benefit from a preferential flat tax of 7.5% on the first 4,600 euros withdrawn (9,200 euros for couples), plus social contributions of 17.2%. Understanding the interplay between entry fees, management fees, arbitrage fees, and the fund performance is critical, and our life insurance simulator models all of these variables to project net returns over any time horizon.

PEA (Plan d'Epargne en Actions)

The PEA is a stock savings plan offering complete income tax exemption on gains after five years of holding. Capped at 150,000 euros in contributions (225,000 euros with the PEA-PME complement), it is the most tax-efficient vehicle for equity investing in France. Our PEA simulator allows users to model different contribution schedules, expected returns, and withdrawal scenarios to understand the real after-tax performance of their equity portfolio compared to a standard securities account (compte-titres ordinaire).

PER (Plan d'Epargne Retraite)

Introduced by the PACTE law in 2019, the PER is the modern retirement savings vehicle in France. Contributions are deductible from taxable income within annual ceilings (10% of professional income, with a minimum of 4,399 euros and a maximum of 35,194 euros for 2024). The trade-off is that withdrawals at retirement are taxed as income. Our PER simulator helps users determine whether the upfront tax deduction outweighs the deferred taxation, a calculation that depends critically on your current and expected future marginal tax rates.

Investment Education: Our Core Mission

Financial literacy in France remains significantly below average among OECD countries. According to the Banque de France's annual survey, a substantial portion of the population cannot correctly define basic concepts like compound interest or inflation. EpargneMalin.fr addresses this gap through 200+ in-depth guides written in plain language, covering topics from the fundamentals of diversification to advanced strategies like the dismemberment of SCPI shares (demembrement de propriete).

Each guide is structured to serve readers at every level: beginners find clear definitions and practical examples, while experienced investors discover optimization strategies and edge cases they may not have considered. We believe that informed savers make better decisions, and better decisions compound over a lifetime into significantly better financial outcomes.

Our commitment

• Independence : No financial ties with insurers or asset managers
• Transparency : Sources cited, methodology documented, limitations explained
• Timeliness : Content updated with each legislative or regulatory change
• Education : Clear explanations without oversimplification, with concrete examples

Privacy and Data Protection

All simulators on EpargneMalin.fr run entirely in your browser. Your financial data (income, savings amounts, investment parameters) is never transmitted to our servers or any third party. We do not require registration, we do not collect email addresses for simulator access, and we do not use tracking cookies beyond what is strictly necessary for anonymous site analytics. Your financial privacy is a fundamental principle of our platform, not an afterthought.

Important disclaimer

EpargneMalin.fr provides general information and simulation tools. Our content does not constitute personalized investment advice under French AMF regulations. For any investment decision, we recommend consulting a wealth management advisor (CGP) or a financial investment advisor (CIF) duly registered with ORIAS.

Contact

For any question, suggestion or error report:
Email: contact@epargnemalin.fr

Our story and mission

EpargneMalin.fr was born from a simple but concerning observation: in France, millions of savers subscribe to life insurance contracts every year without the information they need to make an informed choice. The savings sector, particularly life insurance, suffers from structural opacity that benefits financial intermediaries at the expense of savers. Hidden fees, opaque returns, neglected beneficiary clauses, misunderstood tax rules: the pitfalls are numerous and costly. Our mission is to make this information accessible, understandable and free for everyone, regardless of their level of financial knowledge.

The project started with a modest goal: creating a reliable life insurance return simulator capable of accounting for compound interest, real fees and applicable taxes. Given the enthusiasm this tool generated, we gradually expanded our offering to cover all long-term savings topics: PER simulators, contract comparators, tax guides, estate planning tools. Today, EpargneMalin.fr offers over fifty simulators and hundreds of articles, all designed with the same commitment to rigor and accessibility.

Why independence matters

In the life insurance sector, most information websites receive referral commissions when a visitor subscribes to a contract through a commercial link. This business model, perfectly legal, creates a structural bias: the site has an interest in recommending the contracts that pay the best referral fees, not necessarily those most advantageous for the saver. Referral commissions vary considerably from one contract to another, which can invisibly influence rankings.

EpargneMalin.fr has chosen a different model. We receive no commission from any broker or insurer we analyze. Our funding relies exclusively on contextual advertising (Google AdSense), which has no connection to the contracts we recommend. This financial independence allows us to rank contracts solely on the basis of their objective characteristics, without any commercial consideration.

Recommended additional resources

• BOFiP (bofip.impots.gouv.fr) : The official reference for all tax questions in France.
• ACPR (acpr.banque-france.fr) : The Prudential Supervisory Authority oversees insurers and publishes data on their financial health.
• AMF (amf-france.org) : The Financial Markets Authority offers educational resources on savings and investment.
• France Assureurs (franceassureurs.fr) : The professional federation publishes annual life insurance market statistics.