All the tools are good to defend the purchasing power of the French. At the end of last week, the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, announced that he wanted to launch a major communication campaign in favor of the popular savings account (LEP), aimed at low-income households.
Unlike the livret A, whose revaluation formula is based half on inflation and half on short-term interbank interest rates, the LEP is fully indexed to the inflation of the last six months.
On the recommendation of the Banque de France, its rate will therefore increase from 2.2 to 4.6% from August 1, against an increase of only 1 to 2% for the livret A. What to do with LEP “the best-paying short-term investment to compensate for inflation”estimates Philippe Crevel, the director of the circle of the savings in a note.
Under income conditions
However, not all French people will be able to benefit from this tax-free and advantageous booklet. To obtain it, you must indeed have a net taxable income of less than €20,297 for a single person, €31,137 for a married couple, or €52,817 for a couple with 3 children. Its amount is also capped at €7,700, with a maximum of two booklets per tax household.
Last May, the consumer association CLCV criticized the banks for not promoting this product sufficiently to their customers. Hence Bercy’s desire to advertise it. “We are going to launch a new campaign with the Directorate General of Public Finances, which will contact the French people concerned directly by email”declared Bruno Le Maire, Thursday, July 14 in the columns of the Parisian. Launched last February, a first campaign opened 400,000 new LEPs.
An unknown product
The government has been trying to promote this little-known product for several years, although it has existed since 1982. In March 2021, a decree simplified the conditions for opening an LEP, by removing the obligation to present a notice of taxation at the bank. From now on, banks can ask the tax authorities directly to give them the green light automatically via a computer interface.
Despite these various attempts, LEP is struggling to find its audience. According to the Banque de France, 18.6 million people are eligible for LEP in France, or 28% of the French population. However, only 37% of those who have the right had one open at the end of 2021, i.e. less than 7 million people. By way of comparison, the number of Livret A savings accounts amounted to nearly 56 million at the end of 2021, for outstandings of 343.4 billion euros.