Mandatory group prévoyance in France: the 1.50% executive rule, collective agreements and waivers

Mandatory group life and disability insurance ("prévoyance collective") in France rests on two sources: an inter-professional obligation for executives (cadres), which requires the employer to pay at least 1.50% of their salary below the social security ceiling into a prévoyance scheme, and industry-level obligations set by your collective bargaining agreement, which may extend coverage to non-executives. A company under the Syntec agreement, for instance, must cover its entire workforce. Here is what that means in practice: scope, rates, cost per employee, waivers and portability.

What is group prévoyance, and how does it differ from the company health plan?

Group prévoyance is an insurance contract taken out by the company for its employees, paying a lump sum or an annuity in the event of death, temporary incapacity for work or permanent disability, on top of social security benefits. The company health plan (mutuelle), mandatory for all private-sector employees since 1 January 2016, reimburses medical expenses. They are two different contracts, often confused: having a health plan does not exempt you from prévoyance.

Why is the 1.50% executive prévoyance mandatory?

The obligation stems from Article 7 of the national collective agreement for executives of 14 March 1947, carried over into the national inter-professional agreement (ANI) of 17 November 2017 on executive prévoyance, extended by ministerial order of 27 July 2018. It applies to every company, from the first executive hired.

The employer must pay a contribution of at least 1.50% of "tranche 1" salary, meaning the portion of pay below the monthly social security ceiling, set at €4,005 for 2026 by the order of 22 December 2025. This contribution is borne entirely by the employer and must be allocated as a priority to death benefits: market practice holds that at least 0.76 points of the 1.50% fund death cover, with the remainder available for incapacity or disability.

Who counts as an executive? Article 2.1 of the ANI covers engineers and executives; Article 2.2 covers "assimilated executives", classified at a level defined by the industry agreement. The contractual classification is what matters, not the job title.

What does an employer risk by not taking out executive prévoyance?

The penalty is written into Article 7 itself: if an uninsured executive dies, the employer must pay their beneficiaries a sum equal to three times the annual social security ceiling in force on the date of death. With the 2026 annual ceiling at €48,060, that is €144,180, paid from the company's own funds, for a contribution that would have cost at most €60 per month per executive.

The French Supreme Court (Cour de cassation) also ruled on 30 March 2022 (appeal no. 20-15.022) that the employer's share of health-plan contributions may be counted when assessing compliance with the 1.50%, provided priority is given to death cover.

What does the Syntec agreement say about prévoyance for executives and non-executives?

The collective agreement for technical consultancies and engineering firms (IDCC 1486, known as Syntec) covers most software, consulting and engineering companies. Its prévoyance agreement imposes a mandatory scheme for all employees, executives and ETAM (clerical, technical and supervisory staff) alike, with death, incapacity, disability and children's education annuity benefits.

These are the rates published for 2026 by the industry; check them in your policy notice, as they change by amendment. The recommended insurer is Malakoff Humanis Prévoyance, but companies remain free to choose another insurer offering at least equivalent benefits. Other agreements (wholesale, hospitality, construction) each set their own non-executive scheme. The reference text is available on Légifrance.

Prévoyance is not one more line of payroll charges: it is the only insurance that guarantees a death or serious accident in the team does not also become a liability for the company.

How much does group prévoyance cost per employee?

For an executive, the inter-professional obligation costs at most 1.50% × €4,005, i.e. €60.08 per month and €721 per year in 2026, regardless of pay above the ceiling. For non-executives outside an industry scheme, there is no legal minimum: contracts offered in 2026 generally range from 0.5% to 2% of gross salary depending on benefits, the average age of the workforce and the sector.

If the contract is collective and mandatory, the employer contribution is exempt from social security contributions up to 6% of the annual ceiling (€2,883.60 in 2026) plus 1.5% of gross pay, capped at 12% of the ceiling (€5,767.20). It remains subject to CSG-CRDS and, in companies with 11 or more employees, to the 8% "forfait social". The assessment rules are detailed by Urssaf.

Can an employee refuse to join mandatory prévoyance?

The principle is that every employee in the covered category joins: this mandatory nature is what conditions the exemptions. For the 1.50% executive scheme, no waiver is possible.

For other schemes, two families of waivers exist. The statutory waiver under Article 11 of the Évin Act allows employees already on the payroll when a scheme is set up by unilateral employer decision to refuse to join if part of the contribution is charged to them. Optional waivers, which must be written into the founding document, cover fixed-term and temporary contracts under twelve months, fixed-term contracts over twelve months where the employee proves equivalent individual cover, part-time employees or apprentices whose contribution would reach at least 10% of gross pay, and employees already covered on a mandatory basis elsewhere, including as dependants. Each waiver must be written, dated and kept on file: that is what Urssaf checks during an audit.

How does prévoyance portability work after an employee leaves?

Portability, codified in Article L. 911-8 of the Social Security Code, maintains free of charge the prévoyance benefits of a former employee whose contract ended for a reason giving entitlement to unemployment benefits: dismissal (except gross misconduct), mutually agreed termination, end of a fixed-term contract. The duration equals that of the last employment contract, rounded up to the month, capped at twelve months, and ends as soon as the person finds a new job.

The cost is pooled across contributions for active employees: nothing is charged to the former employee or additionally to the employer, who must nevertheless mention portability on the employment certificate and notify the insurer. Details are on service-public.gouv.fr.

Frequently asked questions

Does a five-person start-up have to take out group prévoyance?

Yes, as soon as it employs one executive: the 1.50% of tranche 1 obligation applies with no headcount or sector condition. If it falls under an agreement such as Syntec, it must also cover its non-executives at the industry rate.

Is a company officer treated as an employee covered by executive prévoyance?

A SAS president or a salaried minority managing director can be included in the executive scheme if they fall within the category defined by the founding document and the policy. There is no obligation, but excluding them often leaves the most exposed person in the company with no cover at all; this is also the subject of key person insurance.

What happens if the company changes collective bargaining agreement?

The prévoyance scheme must be aligned with the new industry agreement within the deadlines it sets. Current benefits do not stop, but a gap in rates or benefits exposes the company to a Urssaf reassessment and employee claims.

Can the prévoyance contribution be reduced when there have been no claims?

Industry rates are minimums, but above them, putting insurers in competition and trimming superfluous benefits deliver real savings, especially for young teams; we detail these levers in 10 ways to reduce your business insurance premiums. Renegotiation generally takes place at the annual renewal date, with two months' notice.

At Lesto, we treat group prévoyance like every other contract of an SME or scale-up: we start from your collective bargaining agreement, the actual structure of your workforce and your founding documents to check your compliance, then consult several insurers to secure the right level of benefits at the right price. Want to know whether your scheme meets the 1.50% executive rule and your industry rates? Discover our group prévoyance offer and request an analysis of your contracts within 72 hours.