Provident funds

What is a provident fund?

The aim of a provident fund is to be able to compensate employees or their families in the event of loss of income in a household due to illness, disability or death. It therefore protects employees against life events which involve a reduction in their income.

Do businesses have to provide a provident fund?

Unlike complementary health insurance, businesses are free to choose whether or not to provide a provident fund for their employees.

Nevertheless, a provident fund may be compulsory in two cases:

The collective agreement or agreement within the sector to which the company belongs may require all companies in that sector to set up a provident fund for their employees.

A provident fund which at least provides cover in case of death is compulsory for professional and managerial staff.

If you would like to know what your company’s obligations are, request to be contacted by one of our specialists here.

The three main types of risk

Temporary incapacity (more commonly known as "sick leave")

Incapacity refers to a situation that prevents an employee from attending work for a period of time. For example, in the event of illness, the employee is placed on sick leave and receives social security daily benefits (IJSS in the French acronym), which are generally 50% of their salary.

The loss of income for the employee is therefore significant during this period, which is why the sick leave benefit from the provident fund can be used to supplement this allowance.

Disability

Disability cover pays an annuity or a lump sum to the insured person who becomes disabled as a result of a non-work-related illness or accident. There are three categories of disability:

• Partial disability
• Total disability
• Total disability and dependency

Death

In the event of the insured person’s death, the beneficiaries named as part of the provident fund (spouse, child or other) may receive a lump sum and/or an annuity.

The main principles of the most common funds, depending on the coverage provided, are:

• Death benefit : a fixed amount of the employee's salary, which generally varies according to their family circumstances
• Spouse's pension : sum paid periodically to the spouse of the deceased
• Education annuity : sum paid periodically to children who have lost one of their parents, in particular to finance their education
• Funeral expenses : a sum paid out in order to help cover funeral expenses

In order to understand your needs and revise your provident fund, we can assist you in auditing, negotiating and implementing solutions tailored to your employees, your HR policy, your legal framework and your budget.

Click here to learn more about our methodology.