“Assurance-Vie” is a contract that will transfer capital to a beneficiary in the event of the death of the subscriber.
During the life of the subscriber, he can freely dispose of his capital, or even receive an additional annuity.

This financial investment vehicle is therefore commonly used to build up savings while protecting your loved ones. It offers inheritance tax advantages too as the contract is considered as a “non-estate” asset.

Also, for premiums paid in:

• before age 70, there is an abatement of € 152,500 for each of the designated beneficiaries (accross different contracts), above a 20% levy is applied.

• after 70 years, there is an abatement of € 30,500 per beneficiary (accross different contracts – contracts taken out after November 20, 1991), above the remainder is subject to inheritance tax.

For the taxation in the event of death, you can find out more here.

“Assurance-Vie” contracts can host 2 types of investment funds:

• “Fonds euro” which offers a guarantee on the capital by the insurer – you can not know the performance ahead, but you are guaranteed not to lose.

• “Unités de Comptes” (UC) which do not include a capital guarantee – those are normal investment funds, invested on the financial markets. They can take different forms: UCITS, SICAV, FCP, SCI, SCPI, OPCI, etc. The return associated is supposed to be greater than the “fonds euro” over time, but a risk of capital loss exists.

The choice between these two types of investment funds depends on the specific situation of the investor: profile, objectives, level of risk accepted.

Availability of capital:

Access to the savings set up is possible at any time through redemptions or advances.

Redemptions are a withdrawal of part or all of the capital invested plus the capital gains. When redeeming, you do not withdraw from a specific support, but substract from the whole contract, hence the capital gains portion will be proportionate to the global performance of the contract (and thus subject to tax).

Advances are an amount loaned by the insuer in order to postpone the taxation of your capital gains, and thus optimising your taxation. Recently, advances can be used advantageously as a source of finance for the acquisition of buy-to-let real estate.

Taxation during the life of the contract:

During the entire savings period, only the capital gains perceived on withdrwals subject to taxation. As such, if you don’t withdraw, there is no tax.

Social security contributions are due each year for earnings from the “fonds euro”, but also upon redemptions or in the event of the death of the insured.

The tax systems for income from a “Assurance-Vie” contract differ according to the duration of the contract and the payment period.

Here is a summary for contracts signed after September 26, 2017, other situations can be viewed here.

The PACTE Law adopted on April 11, 2019, makes it possible to:

• Make old multi-support transferable to newer contracts. The transfer can only be made within the same insurer.

• Make the rates of return and valuation on all contracts more transparent with an indication of the gross and net performance, as well as all the commissions charged (online publication).

• Contribute to the financing of the ecological transition from 2020: multi-support contracts must offer “green” or SRI funds.