Your Livret A earns less than inflation, your life insurance seems to be stagnating, and you hear about new taxes on savings. Managing your wealth in 2026 requires understanding some recent tax mechanisms and making concrete choices about the allocation of your investments. Here are the points that deserve your attention this year.
Increase in PFU in 2026: what changes for your capital income
You may have noticed a slightly higher withholding on your dividends or your securities account interest. The flat tax (PFU), often referred to as “flat tax,” has increased from 30% to 31.4% in 2026, according to Le Monde. This increase comes from the rise in social contributions, not from the tax rate itself.
In practice, the PFU applies to the income from your securities account, certain housing savings plans, and PEA gains depending on their age. Life insurance temporarily retains a distinct tax regime, but the general trend is towards harmonization.
Why should you monitor this point closely? Because the Court of Auditors published a note in September 2026 recommending a return to a single PFU for all investments, including PEA and retirement savings. For now, these are just proposals, not adopted measures. Those who follow financial information on Puissance Patrimoine could read the details of these recommendations as soon as they were published.
Life insurance and bonds: the concrete effect of rising rates
When interest rates rise, insurers adjust the composition of their portfolios. In 2025, they massively invested in bonds to take advantage of this increase, according to data from the Banque de France reported by Le Figaro in September 2026.
This repositioning has a direct effect on the euro funds of your life insurance. The new bonds purchased by your insurer yield more than those that have matured. The yield of euro funds should therefore gradually increase, with a lag of several quarters.
A euro fund does not react immediately to rising rates. Old low-yield bonds must mature and be replaced by new ones. It is a slow but measurable movement.
Euro funds or unit-linked investments: arbitrate according to your horizon
If you do not need to access your savings for several years, unit-linked investments exposed to equity or bond markets can capture this rate increase more quickly. On the other hand, the euro fund remains relevant for the portion of your savings that you wish to secure.
- Euro funds: capital guaranteed, gradually increasing yield, suitable for a short-term horizon or precautionary savings
- Bond unit-linked investments: sensitive to rate fluctuations, potentially more rewarding if you accept a degree of volatility
- Equity unit-linked investments: historically higher yield over the long term, but with marked fluctuations in the short term
The allocation between these three pockets depends on your investment horizon, not on a conviction about market trends.
Donation and transmission: circulating wealth earlier
Transmitting an asset or a sum of money is costly in inheritance taxes. The stated goal of several recent proposals is to circulate wealth earlier to younger generations. Giving at 35 rather than inheriting at 60 changes the game for financing a property purchase or starting a business.
Retirement savings and transmission: an often-overlooked angle
The Court of Auditors also recommends regulating the age at which retirement savings can be unlocked in the context of a transmission. This technical point particularly concerns holders of PER (retirement savings plan) who are considering transmitting this capital rather than consuming it as an annuity.
If you opened a PER to benefit from tax deduction upon entry, check the exit conditions in case of death. Depending on the type of PER (individual, collective) and your age at the time of death, the tax treatment for your heirs differs.
Wealth management in 2026: three concrete decisions to consider
Rather than a list of generic advice, let’s focus on three decisions that can truly change your tax situation this year.
- Check if your PEA has exceeded five years: as long as the tax exemption on gains exists, now is the time to realize capital gains. If the Court of Auditors gets its way, this window could close
- Reassess the bond portion in your life insurance: if your contract is old and mostly in low-yield euro funds, reallocating to recent bond supports can capture the rise in rates more quickly
- Anticipate a donation rather than waiting for succession: ongoing discussions about transmission taxation could lead to more favorable conditions. Preparing the file in advance with a notary allows you to react as soon as a potential text is adopted
These three choices do not require advanced financial skills. They mainly involve keeping up with tax news and acting before the rules change.
The year 2026 is marked by an accumulation of tax proposals aimed at household savings. None are definitive, but each modifies the profitability calculation of your investments. Keeping an eye on voted texts, reviewing the clauses of your contracts, and consulting a professional when a decision exceeds simple common sense remains the most reliable method to protect your wealth.
