Following the recommendations of the Comité Consultatif du Secteur Financier (CCSF), a "non-binding" market agreement has been signed by a number of players to reinforce the transparency and pricing clarity of PER and life insurance management fees from June 1, 2022.
Provision of a standard table of costs
In 2021, CCSF President Corinne Dromer was asked by the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance to gain a better understanding of " the nature and level of fees charged by retirement savings schemes ". As part of this study, 36 individual PERs, including 2 securities account PERs and 34 insurance PERs, were scrutinized. The results show that " the fees charged by individual insurance PERs, which include insurer fees and management company fees, are numerous, regardless of the players and contracts considered, and this accumulation of fees weighs on contract performance ".
In its report, the CCSF recommends that all PER fees be made available on distributors' websites, to enable consumers to take advantage of the competition, and that the amount of total management fees be shown on the saver's annual information statement.
On February 2, at the instigation of the French government, industry professionals committed to increasing the transparency of these savings products. From June 1, 2022, they will be required to display fees on their websites in accordance with the standard table drawn up as part of this joint agreement.
It will be " simple, clear and comprehensible for all consumers ", declared Bruno Le Maire at a press briefing.
Make it easier to compare bank charges
These new measures, which promote transparency in the fees charged by banks and insurers, are also designed to intensify competition in the market by offering savers a wider range of products and services.
New data will be added to the pre-contractual and annual information provided to investors.
"The total fees borne by each unit of account or each asset will now be displayed, from July 1, 2022 onwards for pre-contractual information and from 2023 onwards for the annual information campaign for the 2022 financial year ," says the ministry in a statement published in February 2022.
To help consumers compare bank charges more effectively, the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance provides a free online comparison tool, updated weekly. This official tool is based on data from over 150 credit institutions, representing around 98% of the market in France. All you need to do is enter the type of establishment you're looking for (physical, online or both) and your département to access the rates on offer. The results are available in a few clicks, in the form of an exportable and printable table.