Assurance Vie Information

[Mat_Davies]

Hi - having spoken to Credit Agricole they have proposed an Assurance Vie policy.

AVs are new to me - is there somewhere I can find out a little more before pulling the trigger with someone.

Thanks

[graham]

Oct 2016 but probably still relevant -

Assurance Vie - what you need to know

[image] [image] For some time now, plummeting bond yields have been a concern for investors in French ‘assurance vie’ policies. Are life insurers going to be able to pay policy holders an acceptable annual return when bonds offer ever lower or even negative returns? These funds have to guarantee capital whilst paying a bonus every year. The only way a fund manager can be sure of meeting this obligation is to put the vast majority of investors’ money into French government bonds, thus funding government debt to the tune of trillions of euros. As recently as 2007, they were paying an attractive 5% per annum net. This has now fallen to about 2.5% and are set to fall further, almost certainly to under 2% in 2016. Bond rates are at historically low levels and they should now really only be paying about 1%, but companies have been dipping into their reserves, as they fear that such a low rate would lead to a mass exodus from these policies. This has led to concerns about the financial …

[JaneJones]

Think of them a bit like an ISA, in that you get a (nearly) tax free envelope and pop all sorts of different things in it. Something, like the Euro fonds, are low interest earning, but safe. Other things are more risky and higher income earning. Your choice.

The big advantage is you can bequeath to anyone you like tax free €152k (up to age 70) so good so people with complicated families.

After 8 years you get annual capital gain allowance so can withdraw some funds. Otherwise you do pay tax and social charges on withdrawals (unless you have an S1)

The main negative side, and one to watch like a hawk when choosing a policy, is the fees. They can be eye-watering. And you pay fees on everything!

[chrisell]

I’d look at the options before one proposed by a bank - if you want French bank safety look at boursarama or (slips my mind but the websites green…) they usually rate well.

In context I have two of them and they are my main “pension” for want of a better word. The euro funds (think cash ISA are close to useless at current rates) - fees vary enormously and the choice is vast (hide your millions in Liechtenstein to small savings accounts).

There are Irish options - the Pru has a decent option oddly enough

There are comparison sites it’s working out the right search term from memory