« How do I transfer my assurance-vie to a low-fee contract? » is one of the most common wealth questions among savers. The legal answer is frustrating: there is no transfer of an assurance-vie between insurers in France. This quirk in effect protects traditional insurers that charge high fees. But practical solutions exist — here is how to proceed.
The legal framework: why there is no transfer between insurers
Assurance-vie is an insurance contract governed by the Code des assurances, not a simple investment account. The contract ties the policyholder to one specific insurer (CNP, Spirica, Cardif, Predica...), with specific contractual commitments (notably the minimum guaranteed rate on the euro fund, sometimes set on advantageous historical terms).
Consequence: it is not possible to “carry” a contract to another insurer, as you can with a PEA (free transfer between brokers) or with a PER (transfers between insurers are provided for by law).
This legal quirk protects incumbent insurers and limits competition on fees. It explains why contracts with 1.5% unit-linked fees sold by traditional banks continue to exist despite the arrival of 0.30% contracts such as Lucya CNP.
The Fourgous transfer and the Pacte law
One legal mechanism lets you stay within the same insurer while preserving tax seniority: the Pacte law, which has largely superseded the Fourgous transfer.
The Pacte law (law of 22 May 2019, article 72) allows all or part of an assurance-vie contract to be converted into another contract of the same insurer, without the operation being treated as a withdrawal: no taxation and tax seniority is kept. Condition: the new contract must include at least a share in unit-linked funds or in eurocroissance funds, with no minimum set. In practice, a client can ask their insurer to migrate their contract to a more recent product in the same range.
The Fourgous transfer (2005), more restricted, only covers a single-support contract (100% euro fund) converted into a multi-support contract of the same insurer, with tax seniority kept. A share of at least 20% in unit-linked funds is generally required, as insurer practice rather than by law. Initial aim: to encourage diversification into unit-linked funds. It still formally exists, but it is largely superseded by the regime created by the Pacte law, which has a wider scope.
Major limits:
- The transfer stays limited to the same insurer — Predica stays with Predica, Allianz stays with Allianz, and so on.
- If the insurer’s whole catalogue carries high fees, a transfer within the insurer does not significantly improve the situation.
- The law opens a possibility but creates no right to a transfer: the insurer remains free to accept or refuse, and sets its own conditions (fees, timing).
- The most modern contracts of the same insurer often remain at fees comparable to the older contracts.
Conclusion: the conversion provided for by the Pacte law is useful in specific cases (an old contract to modernise or diversify within the same insurer), but does not solve the underlying problem of high fees.
The real solution: open a new low-fee contract
The most effective strategy for savers with a high-fee contract is in fact simple:
1. Open a new low-fee contract with another insurer. Recommendations: Lucya CNP (0.30% unit-linked fees, CNP Assurances) or Linxea Spirit 2 (0.50% unit-linked fees, Spirica; page in French). For a detailed comparison, see our Lucya CNP vs Linxea Spirit 2 comparison (in French).
2. Keep the old contract “dormant” — that is, stop paying into it, but leave it open to preserve its tax seniority (the 8-year clock already started). You thus keep a tax-mature “historic” contract.
3. Make future payments into the new low-fee contract. From that point, new premiums compound in a reduced-fee wrapper.
This approach lets you benefit in parallel from the seniority of the old contract (for withdrawals with the annual allowance after 8 years) and from the low fees of the new contract (for compounding new payments). See our full analysis of high-fee assurance-vie contracts (in French).
Gradual migration of the capital
If you also want to migrate the existing capital from the old contract to the new one, the method is gradual partial withdrawals.
Ideally, wait until the old contract has passed 8 years of seniority. Beyond that, the gains withdrawn benefit each year from an allowance of €4,600 (single) or €9,200 (couple) on income tax. By spreading withdrawals over several years, you optimise the exit tax.
Example: a high-fee contract of €100,000 with €30,000 of gains, held by a couple. Strategy: each year, withdraw a fraction of the contract under the ceiling of €9,200 of annual gains (that is ~€30,000 of capital a year if gains represent 30% of the total). Over 3 to 4 years, the capital is fully migrated with no income tax at all (only the 17.2% social charges apply to the gains).
For contracts that do not yet have 8 years of seniority, the calculation may justify waiting or accepting the 30% flat tax on the gains withdrawn (12.8% income tax + 17.2% social charges — assurance-vie remains excluded from the 2026 CSG increase), depending on the amounts involved.
When migration pays off: the numbers
A contract with 1.5% unit-linked fees (typical of bank contracts) vs a contract with 0.5% in cumulative fees (Lucya CNP type) is a gap of one point of fees a year. On a capital of €100,000 invested for 20 years at 7% gross:
- Bank contract (1.5% cumulative): final capital ≈ €292,000
- Low-fee contract (0.5% cumulative): final capital ≈ €352,000
- Difference: ~€60,600 over 20 years, i.e. about 21% more capital than the bank contract
The calculation amply justifies migrating, including temporarily accepting a double holding during the transition years. The tax cost of a gradual withdrawal is generally far lower than the long-term fee saving.
Traps to avoid
Trap 1 — Closing the old contract too fast. Tax seniority (the 8-year clock) is attached to the contract. Closing to withdraw everything before waiting the 8 years can lose you the annual allowance. Smoothing withdrawals keeps the seniority alive to the last euro.
Trap 2 — Trusting your current insurer’s proposals. If you mention your intention to leave, your insurer may offer a Pacte conversion to another contract of the same house. Check the fees of the proposed contract precisely — often still too high compared with the competitive market.
Trap 3 — Confusing transfer and arbitrage. Arbitrage is a change of funds within the same contract (for example moving from the euro fund to unit-linked funds). It has nothing to do with a transfer to another contract or insurer. Arbitrage fees (often 0% on low-fee contracts) are not transfer fees.
Trap 4 — Underestimating the time to open the new contract. Allow a few weeks to open a contract (electronic signature, initial transfer, validation). Plan ahead by opening the new contract before starting the capital migration.
Frequently asked questions
Can you transfer your assurance-vie from one bank to another?
No. Unlike a PEA or a PER, an assurance-vie cannot be transferred between insurers. No legal provision allows it: a bill introducing such transfers, adopted by the Senate in January 2023, was never passed by the National Assembly. If you are unhappy with your current contract with a given insurer, the only realistic option is to open a new contract with another insurer (at low fees), keep the old one as a “dormant contract” to preserve its tax seniority, and possibly make gradual withdrawals to migrate the capital.
What is the Fourgous transfer?
The Fourgous transfer (2005) lets you transfer a single-support assurance-vie contract (100% euro fund) to a multi-support contract of the same insurer, while keeping tax seniority. It still formally exists, but it is largely superseded by the Pacte law (2019, article 72), which allows all or part of a contract to be converted into another contract of the same insurer, without taxation and with tax seniority kept, provided the new contract includes unit-linked funds or eurocroissance. The insurer remains free to accept or refuse. Limit: this mechanism does not let you change insurer. If you want to leave an insurer whose contracts all carry high fees, you need to open a new contract elsewhere.
Should you close your old assurance-vie?
Not necessarily. If your old contract already has 8 years or more of seniority, keeping it “dormant” (no new payments) preserves its tax seniority for future withdrawals with the annual allowance. In parallel, you can open a new low-fee contract for future payments. Final closure is only needed if you prefer to simplify management or need to recover all the capital quickly (in which case a full surrender triggers the standard tax on the gains).
How many assurance-vie contracts can you hold?
There is no legal limit. One person can hold as many assurance-vie contracts as they wish, with several insurers. It is even a common strategy for significant estates: spreading across insurers to limit exposure to a single player, and combining different contract profiles (low fees for capitalisation, managed allocation for one pocket, etc.). Each contract follows its own tax seniority clock (8 years).
Migration strategy tailored to your situation
paro conseil analyses your current contracts (fees, seniority, funds) and builds an optimised migration strategy towards the best contracts on the market. Independent, fee-based approach, with no retrocessions.
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