Will the second time be the charm? After having adopted in the Finance Committee the possibility for the holder of life insurance to transfer the capital of your contract in advance to its beneficiaries, the deputies voted for this measure in public session during the examination of the finance bill (PLF) for 2026, this Monday, November 3. That is almost a year after having already gave their approval during discussions on the 2025 budget to a measure finally deleted from the text after recourse by the government to article 49-3 of the Constitution. But the conditions have changed and the measure carried by the Republican Right group will not suffer the same fate twice, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu having already committed not to forcefully pass on the budget by ruling out a recourse to 49-3.
In detail, the amendment defended in the Hemicycle by the deputy for Allier Nicolas Ray plans to allow the holder of a life insurance to transmit up to 152,500 euros during his lifetime to each of his beneficiaries. Or an amount identical to the reduction reserved for these same beneficiaries on the death of the subscriber when the premiums were paid before the age of 70. The idea being, according to Nicolas Ray, to provoke “a positive impact for the recovery of the economy”.
A specific reduction for transmissions made in 2026
If the measure was supported by the general budget rapporteur, Philippe Juvin (Republican Right) since it “puts money back into the economy”however, she received an unfavorable opinion from Amélie de Montchalin. The Minister of Public Accounts pointing out that “350 billion euros of French debt is carried by life insurance (through euro funds, Editor’s note)» and calling for the greatest caution for this reason. A call for restraint which did not cool the deputies, the latter voting the amendment of the Republican Right by 120 votes against 110.
Note that if the amendment passes the test of budget examination in the Senate, the measure will apply for the year 2026 only. This will affect premiums paid before the subscriber’s 70th birthday and before October 1, 2025. In addition, the contract holder must be 70 years old no later than December 31, 2026 to be able to transmit their capital to their beneficiaries. Beneficiaries who will see their reduction of 152,500 euros provided for upon the death of the subscriber minus the amount transmitted in 2026.
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