First-time buyers
Unlocking your PEE or PER to buy your main residence: a step-by-step guide
Your PEE, and under certain conditions your PER, can be unlocked to buy your main residence: documents, timeline, net amount, and how the lender interprets it.
Yes: the purchase of your main residence allows for the early withdrawal from an employee savings plan, and, for a retirement savings plan, from all funds except the portion resulting from mandatory contributions. The application must be submitted after the event that justifies it, within a deadline set by regulation, accompanied by the required documents, and results in a single payment. Only the net amount received is included in the financing plan.
By Sandy MASCART, mandataire d'intermédiaire en opérations de banque et en services de paiement ORIAS 26000541 sous le mandat de CDV PATRIMOINE & ASSURANCE (ORIAS 14005573)
Key points
- The acquisition or extension of your main residence allows for the early withdrawal from an employee savings plan; the list of eligible cases is exhaustive.
- A retirement savings plan can also be unlocked for the purchase of your main residence, except for the portion resulting from mandatory contributions.
- The withdrawal application must be submitted after the event that justifies it, within a deadline set by regulation, as a single payment.
- The net amount received is always lower than the gross amount on the statement: it is this amount, and only this amount, that is included in the financing plan.
- An employee savings plan remains vested after leaving the company: former employers may hold accessible savings.
Yes: the purchase of your principal residence unlocks an employee savings plan before its term ends and, subject to conditions, a retirement savings plan. This is often the forgotten contribution. Other references: the first purchase.
What the purchase of the principal residence unlocks
Your blocked employee savings, to purchase or extend your principal residence. For a rental property or a secondary residence, only the funds already available serve as a contribution.
The sums withdrawn from their blocking period are retrieved without reason: your statement distinguishes them.
PEE, PERCO, PER: three answers
| Lending budget | Does the purchase of the principal residence unlock it? | The point to check |
|---|---|---|
| Employee savings plan (PEE, PEI) | Yes | The deadline for submitting the application |
| Former collective retirement savings plan (PERCO) | To be verified in the plan rules | The specific rules of the plan, if it has not been converted |
| Retirement savings plan (PER), individual or company | Yes, except for the portion arising from mandatory contributions | The tax on withdrawal, which is not neutral |
- PEE: record the net amount of deductions, not that of the statement (impots.gouv.fr).
- PER: the withdrawal in capital has a tax cost; have it calculated beforehand.
The right time, the right documents
After the preliminary sale agreement, within the deadline set from this event. The release is made in a single payment, on all or part of the rights.
The deadline is in the plan rules and on service-public.fr. Usual documents:
- The signed preliminary sale agreement, or the construction or reservation contract.
- The financing plan.
- A sworn statement of principal residence.
- Sometimes, a certificate from the notary.
Send the application within days of the preliminary sale agreement: the funds must be with the notary at the signature from the preliminary sale agreement to the keys.
Make it count as equity
- The latest statement, with the dates of availability.
- Proof that the release is possible.
- The expected net amount.
Then the transfer statement, which traces the origin of the funds (personal equity).
How much to release
The PEE costs little: mobilise it before your precautionary savings. The PER is worth it if it changes the bank's decision, not just the instalment. Thin equity? Buying without equity.
Four calendar errors
- Applying before the preliminary sale agreement: rejection.
- Waiting for the loan offer: the deadline is already running.
- Counting the gross amount.
- Forgetting the schemes from former employers: they remain mobilisable.
I am a mortgage intermediary working under mandate: I hold no accounts and give no tax advice (fees). Prepare the documents and call before the preliminary sale agreement.
Create your file: your employee savings form part of the funding plan.
Sources
- Légifrance — Article L. 3332-25 du code du travail
- Légifrance — Article R. 3324-22 du code du travail
- Légifrance — Article R. 3324-23 du code du travail
- Légifrance — Article L. 224-2 du code monétaire et financier
- Légifrance — Article L. 224-4 du code monétaire et financier
- Service-Public.fr
- impots.gouv.fr
- Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF)
Read next
- How much can I borrow? Mortgage capacity in Lyon
- Down payment for a mortgage: how much is actually required, and how to prove it No minimum down payment threshold is imposed: what the down payment actually covers, what counts as a down payment, and how to prove its origin to the bank.
- Buying without a deposit in Lyon: in which cases is it still possible Buying without a deposit in Lyon: the profiles still financed, what the lender requires in compensation, and the six situations where the answer remains no.
- How long between the preliminary sale agreement and the keys? The actual timeline, and where to save time From sale agreement to keys, step by step: the legal deadlines that cannot be cut, those that can, and six levers to keep the timeline short.
- First-time buyer in Lyon: the real budget of a first purchase, line by line Transfer duties, notary fees, guarantee, down payment, works: the full cost of a first purchase in Lyon, item by item, with the cash flow schedule.
All articles on this topic: First-time buyers