Since February 1, 2026, the Livret A has been paid at 1.5%, its lowest since 2021. This drop was anticipated, and many savers cashed it in without asking questions… until inflation returned. At the start of spring, it rose to around 2.2% in April, driven by the surge in energy prices linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Result: the real return on Livret A becomes negative again, at -0.68%. For every euro left on it, you lose purchasing power, slowly but surely.
On a full A booklet at 22,950 euros, this represents around 160 euros of purchasing power evaporated in twelve months. The next revision of the rate is expected on August 1, but until then, it is better to explore other avenues to put your savings to work. And the French have understood this well: after a net outflow of 490 million euros in March, 1.28 billion euros in withdrawals were made by savers in the month of April. Since the start of the year, cumulative outflows have now reached 4.38 billion euros.
The euro life insurance fund, a big beneficiary of the economic situation
While the Livret A suffers this dropeuro life insurance funds are taking advantage of the situation. The average return for 2025 is around 2.65% net of management fees, and Good Value for Money’s projections count on 2.9% in 2026, more than one point better than Livret A. Gilles Belloir, general manager of Placement-direct.fr, explains the phenomenon: “Short-term rates have tended to fall, but long-term rates have remained high. This is what we call in insurers’ jargon the steepening of the yield curve ».
This gap between short rates and long rates is favorable to insurers: “The job of a life insurer is to arbitrate between savers’ need for liquidity and long-term bond investments. As long-term money yields more, insurers make part of their investments in government bonds. And right now, States borrow expensivelywhich is favorable for savers”summarizes Gilles Belloir. “ For almost a year, government borrowing rates have been rising continuously. This encourages insurers to pay more generously on life insurance”he adds.
Take advantage of bond rates
Offers on life insurance are multiplying, with bonuses on payments offered by certain players, in particular mutual insurance companies. But Gilles Belloir calls for vigilance: “These bonuses are sometimes conditional on part of the payment in units of account, which are not guaranteed ». It is then essential to diversify and move towards more secure units of account: “ Financial markets are quite high At this time, caution is therefore required. One of the solutions is to invest in short-term bond funds, which have little risk and which remain a unit of account”advises the expert.
“The shorter we are on the bond part, the more chances we have to have little variation. The longer we are, the more sensitive we will be to the economic situation, because if rates rise sharply, long-term bonds have lower rates. will lose value “, explains Gilles Belloir. In addition, online life insurance is much more liquid than before: on certain contracts, you can withdraw your money in three days.
Term accounts to lock in your savings over several years
Last option for savers ready to immobilize part of their capital: the term account. The principle consists of lend a sum to a bank for a period fixed in advancefrom a few months to five years, in exchange for an interest rate known from the start. According to data from Meilleurtaux Placement, the best offers display between 2.40% and 3.40% gross for terms of 2 to 5 years. “Term accounts become interesting if you lock the money in for four or five years. We arrive at rates of 2.45% or 2.8%, absolutely risk-free »confirms Gilles Belloir. He also emphasizes that “even if the money is blocked, we can still recover it in the event of a major emergency, but with a penalty on the interest”. This penalty can go up to 25% or 30% of interest depending on the establishment.
