With 1,000 euros net per month more in retirement, we are beyond the “little bonus” : it’s an amount that can change your daily life. These 12,000 euros per year would make it possible to pay rent, home help, or several trips per year. But to reach this level, the question is no longer just “where to place”it is also “how to build capital”.
Before talking about investments, let’s put a figure: to take out 12,000 euros per year without eating into your savings, at a net return of around 4 to 5%, you need to have capital between 240,000 and 300,000 euros (this is not a rule set in stone, but a useful order of magnitude to get your bearings). If you have neither inherited nor received a high salary or incredible bonuses to save, you will have to build it up.
Build up sufficient capital
If you are still far from 250,000 to 300,000 euros, two strategies are available to you. The first is a regular savings effort: saving every month in a profitable investment, such as the stock market. In the long term and by investing worldwide, the risk is smoothed out. For this, you can invest in ETFs (baskets of stocks), the MSCI World for example. With one share, you actually invest in 1,320 companies from 23 countries. By saving 680 euros per month at an average return of 6%, you reach 300,000 euros in 20 years. Extend to 25 years, and the savings effort required drops to 450 euros per month thanks to compound interest.
Does that seem like a lot to you? Be aware that there is a shortcut that pure savings cannot offer: the credit lever. With 20,000 euros deposit, you borrow 100,000 to 200,000 euros to buy a studio or a T2. If you are in a profitable city where rental demand is strong, the rent will reimburse all or the majority of the monthly payment… or even leave you with a surplus to save. After 20 years, you own a property that generates a net income, without having to save. This is the only investment where the tenant’s money works for you.
There is, however, a downside: credit rates are still around 3.5% over 20 years in 2026and you have to take into account rental vacancies, unforeseen work and illiquid capital. But for a goal of 1,000 euros per month, leverage can change everything.
Generate 1,000 euros monthly upon retirement
Once the capital objective is reached, you change your logic. This is the time to generate income without weakening the entire capital. Little by little, we will have to move from offensive investments to grow capital to investments that generate regular income, such as SCPIs or dividend stocks.
With capital between 240,000 and 300,000 euros, it is important not to concentrate the risk. We will therefore have to divide between real estate and the stock market.
- To start, put a large part of our capital on the stock market: 120,000 eurosvia a PEA. We will have to build a portfolio of stocks that have been paying an increasing dividend for at least 10 years: these are the dividend aristocrats. Among the stocks eligible for the PEA, TotalEnergies stands out with 5 to 6% annual return over the last 5 years, Sanofi is around 5%, FDJ exceeded 6% last year, and Rubis 7%. If you select your shares carefully, we can expect an average return of 6% gross: on 120,000 euros invested in PEA, this represents 7,200 euros in dividends per year. After five years of detention, alone 18.6% social security contributions apply : there remains 5,861 euros net, or 488.4 per month.
- We will complete with SCPI and invest 60,000 euros in a diversified portfolio. For this, you have the choice between SCPI directly or via life insurance to optimize inheritance and taxation. If we choose life insurance as an envelope, we will imagine a return of 5%, or 3,000 euros gross. After 17.2% of social security contributions, we have 2,484 euros net, therefore 207 euros per month.
- Finally, let’s take back our rental property. After 20 years, the loan is theoretically repaid. In France, the gross rental yield ((annual rent / acquisition cost) x 100) varies greatly depending on the city : Grenoble exceeds 5.7%, Marseille 5.4%, Nîmes is at 6.5%, while Saint-Étienne exceeds 10% and Mulhouse 11%. In comparison, the 4% of Paris looks gloomy. Let’s take the average 2025 yield in France of 5.9% for our simulation on a property worth 100,000 euros: that’s 5,900 euros of gross rent per year. But it’s not over: let’s deduct around 1,000 euros of real charges (property taxinsurance, etc.), then taxation. On rental income, it is very complicated: everything depends on the regime chosen (micro-land or actual) and your tax bracket. Unlike other investments, there is no universal rate. In furnished rental (LMNP), the accounting depreciation of the property can wipe out almost all taxes, whereas in bare rental, taxes can take an average of 30% depending on your situation. If we deduct 15% of taxes to make an average, the net amount remains 4,015 per year, therefore 334.6 euros net per month.
Let’s add up: for 280,000 euros invested, we have 1,030 euros net per month in our pocket ! Or an overall net return of 4.41% on 280,000 euros invested. Obviously, these estimates remain indicative: past returns do not guarantee future performance, and rental taxes will vary depending on your situation.
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