France likes to save: the country’s average savings rate is around 15%. Put money aside, don’t spend it, preserve it… A logic that has been disrupted in recent months by inflation. This climbed to 2.4% in May, driven up by the sharp rise in energy prices. And during this time, the Livret A rate remained stuck at 1.5%. A euro saved in a Livret A account is now losing purchasing power in real terms.
Gilles Belloir, general manager of Placement-direct, believes that “the real question is not whether I should save or whether I should consume, because we always have more interest in saving over time than in consuming. It is to know if my capital will appreciate, or if I will lose purchasing power on it. » Thus, the expert believes that today, even more than in recent months, “Even less should you let your savings lie dormant”whether on a current account (which should contain “only enough to last the month, no more”) or on a Livret A, useful for precautionary savings (three to six months’ salary). As a reminder, its rate was halved in one year, going from 3% in January 2025 to 1.5% since February 2026. It should rise again in August, but to 1.75% or 1.8% maximum.
Saving, yes, but in what medium?
The answer is therefore not to give up saving, but to review your allocation. As for secure investments, which can replace the Livret A, there are several solutions. For those who can block their money, there are term accounts, which show between 2 and 3% depending on the duration, with approximately 2.70% over five years. Be careful, they are possible if you think that inflation will subside; if it increases, liquid investments will become more attractive again.
You can also turn to euro life insurance funds, provided you choose them carefully: the best will provide a 3.5% return in 2025, with temporary boosts of up to 5% on certain contracts. 2026 rates should remain in this vein. These levels can be explained by the rise in long-term rates: “The advantage of euro funds is that insurers invest over the long term, while providing liquidity (online contracts can allow withdrawal within 3 days for the fastest, editor’s note). Long rates have increased, and insurers are able to seek attractive returns on these long rates”he explains. France Assureurs recorded a record collection.
Beyond purely safe investments, for those who accept greater volatility and an investment horizon of more than eight years, units of account historically offer an annualized return of around 6% on the equity markets. “It is always in your interest to have part of your savings in units of account, adjusting according to your relationship to risk and your time horizon”notes Gilles Belloir. Even a prudent profile, provided that it respects its investment horizon, can therefore invest in the stock market, via life insurance or even ETFs on a PEA. To smooth out the risk, it is good to invest regularly.
Stay vigilant about your contract costs
But be careful, all this on condition of having reasonable costs on your contract, and of not to pay fees on payments. Gilles Belloir insists on this point: “Fees on payments are capital that disappears the day you invest and which will not generate any interest over time. By choosing an online contract, they are zero”he assures. As for the management fees on the units of account, they vary “between 0.8 and 1% with traditional players, compared to 0.5 to 0.6% with an online broker. Over ten years, the difference in yield is considerable”notes the general director of Placement-direct.
The same goes for the PEA: check carefully THE brokerage feesand avoid bank contracts with custody fees. There is none online. The weight of fees can weigh heavily on your return, and also be one of the reasons why you deplete your savings, which is why it is better to reduce them as much as possible.
