A third of home savings plans will close by 2030

What is a PEL?

The home savings plan (PEL) is a regulated savings product that allows you to obtain, under certain conditions, a home savings loan. This loan can be used to finance the purchase or construction of your primary residence, or certain repair or improvement works within your usual residence.

A home savings plan (PEL) is opened for a minimum of 4 years. Throughout this period, the interest rate remains at the rate set by the government in the year the plan was opened. For example, it is 2% if it was opened after December 31, 2025, compared to 1,75% for PELs opened during 2025.

The average balance of the PEL is 25.017 euros. Yet it is one of the regulated savings products which has the highest deposit ceiling: you can put up to 61.200 euros into it, compared to 22.950 euros for the Livret A, 12.000 euros for the Livret de développement durable et solidaire (LDDS), and 10.000 euros for the Livret d'épargne populaire (LEP).

Why are some closing down?

The amending finance law of December 29, 2010 introduced new rules concerning their closure: PELs opened since March 1, 2011 are automatically closed after 15 years.

If your PEL was opened in March 2011, for example, it will be closed in March 2026.

However, those opened before this date can be kept without time limit.

Of the 9 million existing PELs, 3,2 million will be affected between 2026 and 2030. This represents an outstanding amount of 93 billion euros out of the total 202,9 billion euros recorded at the end of September 2025.

What happens to your savings after the automatic closure of the PEL?

If your PEL reaches maturity, reaching this maximum duration of 15 years, it will automatically be transformed into a classic savings account with an interest rate set by your bank.

Public authorities remind, however, that holders of PELs can, before this 15-year deadline, use them to obtain a home savings loan.

The holder of a PEL can also close it himself whenever he wishes, before it matures, and use the funds in it for projects of his choice.

What do the banks offer?

All banks plan to inform their customers of the closure of the PEL one to two months in advance, offering them the opportunity to discuss it with an advisor.

This approach is not new, "many PELs have already benefited from this procedure following an early maturity (stoppage of payments by the client, reaching the payment ceiling...)", emphasizes Crédit Agricole, which indicates that it has already deployed, for several years, "a proven system of information and support for the clients concerned".

Sébastien Nourry, director of the retail market at Banque Populaire, recommends guidance from an advisor because "there are many proposals for reallocating these funds" and "15 years after opening" a PEL, customers' life priorities may have changed, "their aspirations may have evolved" and "other savings choices may become appropriate".

To facilitate the transition, Société Générale has decided to "automatically" allocate the funds from the closure of PELs opened from March 1, 2011 "to a savings account with a boosted rate of 1,70% up to 70.000 euros, and (at a rate of) 0,30% beyond" this ceiling.

"Holders of old PELs should turn to life insurance, which should satisfy them in terms of return, capital guarantee and taxation," said Philippe Crevel, president of the Cercle de l'épargne, in a note.

Data: Bank of France, Service-public.gouv.fr, Cercle de l'épargne.

Illustrative image of the article via Depositphotos.com.