What proportion of the population has an LEP? What is its place in the French savings charts? Why will his pay break records? Here are some edifying figures on the People’s Savings Booklet.
16.4% of the French held a popular savings account at the end of 2021. A particularly low figure for a regulated savings product, therefore exempt from taxes and guaranteed by the State. By way of comparison, the followers of the Livret A account represent 73.5% of the population, those of the LLDS 35.9%. This is all the more surprising since the LEP, with a rate of 2%, is the highest paying booklet: at least 0.5 point above the Livret A and even more currently (+1.2 point), due to inflation. Restricted access to LEP, which is closed to the wealthiest households, partly explains this low figure. But not only.
LEP owned by only one in eight individuals
The recent INSEE publication on the composition of household wealth shows that even a dozen years ago, in 2010, almost a quarter of French people (23.4% to be precise) held an LEP. A percentage that has continued to decline since, going from 18.8% in 2015, 17.8% in 2018 and 16.4%, so in 2021. What happened? LEP has borne the brunt of the fall in its remuneration, from 2.75% to 1% during this decade, but also of the trivialization of the Livret Adistributed since January 1, 2009 by all banks, whereas it was previously exclusive to Caisse d’Epargne, La Poste and Crdit Mutuel.
Sixth place in the standings
LEP thus appears today only 6th place savings products the most held by the French, behind the Livret A and the LDDS, but also life insurance, the Housing Savings Plan (PEL) and securities (stocks, bonds, shares, SCPI, etc.)
| Savings products | In 2018 | In 2021 |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Booklet A (or Livret Bleu at Crdit Mutuel) | 73% | 74% |
| 2. Life insurance | 39% | 41% |
| 3.LDDS (formerly LDD & Codevi) | 35% | 36% |
| 4. Housing savings plan (ELP) | 28% | 25% |
| 5. Transferable securities (shares, funds, shares, SCPI…) | 16% | 17% |
| 6. People’s savings account (THE P) | 19% | 16% |
| 7. Retirement savings (PER and old plans) | 14% | 15% |
| 8. Employee savings | 14% | 14% |
| 9. Housing savings account (CEL) | 14% | 13% |
| 10. Youth booklet | 12% | 11% |
Source: INSEE Life History and Heritage 2020-2021 survey.
The institute specifies that the holding of Livret A savings accounts may be underestimated, because of certain savings accounts of very low amounts.
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A 4.4% pay coming?
The LEP could however regain a second youth in 2022. Since last February 1, in fact, it has posted a net return of 2.20%, against 1% previously. It should double again next August to reach 4.4%, unheard of since July 1999! LEP should therefore benefit from an interest rate effect, which has already enabled it to collect an additional 1.5 billion euros in February 2022, something unheard of since the end of 2003. This is all the more so since the process of verification of income by the bank, mandatory to open and hold a LEP, has been greatly simplified in recent months.
LEP 2.2%: are you entitled to this super booklet without knowing it?