Supplementary Income: Which Investments Pay Out Monthly

Monthly, quarterly or drawn-down: how to choose?

Not all income-generating investments are equal. What matters isn't the headline promise: it's the day the money actually lands in your account.

Three ways to receive supplementary income

The first mechanism is a spontaneous monthly payment. The money arrives without you lifting a finger: rent, interest from a loan repaid every month, certain dividends…

The second mechanism is spaced-out payments. These land quarterly, semi-annually or annually, the income is real, but it arrives in batches. It's up to you to smooth it out.

The third mechanism is the most deceptive one. The investment pays out nothing on its own, and you are the one organising regular withdrawals from your savings. This is known as drawn-down income. Convenient, no doubt about that, but part of this "income" is nothing more than your own capital coming back to you…

💡 For a full overview of the available vehicles, we've already covered investments that pay out every month. Here, we focus on two questions: how much you'll actually keep, and with what capital.

Think net, or nothing adds up

A headline return is almost always gross. The issue is that between that figure and your current account sits taxation.

Since 1 January 2026, the flat tax (prélèvement forfaitaire unique, or PFU) applied to interest and dividends for investors resident in France has risen from 30% to 31.4%, a consequence of the increase in CSG social levies on capital income. In concrete terms, €100 of gross interest becomes €68.60 net. Rental income, for its part, is added to your taxable income and also carries a further 17.2% in social contributions.

Then there's inflation, the silent tax: with 2% annual price growth, €500 today will be worth only about €410 in ten years.

The right approach? Start from a target expressed as net monthly income, then work backwards to the required return and capital. Never the other way round.

Investments that pay out spontaneously every month

Crowdlending: interest arriving throughout the month

Crowdlending means lending money to businesses through an online platform.

In practice, the borrower repays according to a schedule, most often monthly, made up of interest and often a share of the principal.

Its distinctive feature is the way the income arrives.

Indeed, each loan follows its own borrower's schedule: a diversified portfolio therefore generates dozens of small payments spread across the month, rather than a single transfer. On Maclear, interest is paid monthly, loan by loan, which results in numerous small payments spread across the month (we give the full breakdown of these payments here).

In terms of return, business lending plays in a different league from savings accounts. The rates displayed on Maclear range between 14 and 16% APR depending on the project, and can reach 16.5% with the loyalty programme — the detail is set out in the platform's FAQ. Note: these are gross rates, before any defaults and before tax.

Because the risk is real: a business may repay late, or not repay at all. Hence a rule with no exceptions: spread your stake across many loans. Our analysis of how many loans are needed before a default stops hurting returns gives a concrete order of magnitude. With tickets starting at €50, this diversification remains accessible even with modest capital.

For an investor resident in France, interest received is subject to the 31.4% PFU flat tax. Full detail is available in our guide on crowdlending taxation.

Rental property, including parking spaces and storage units

Rent remains the most intuitive form of regular monthly income. A tenant pays every month, and what's left after the mortgage, charges and property tax makes up your cash flow.

Parking spaces and storage units follow the same logic. The entry ticket is much lower than for a flat, and management is lighter.

Except that regularity is never guaranteed, between vacancies, unpaid rent, or a roof that suddenly needs redoing: the flow can stop dead! Sometimes it even turns negative! On the tax side, unfurnished rentals fall under property income, furnished lettings under business income (BIC), often more favourable under the LMNP status for investors resident in France.

SCPIs with monthly distributions

SCPIs (French real-estate investment vehicles, sociétés civiles de placement immobilier) let you collect a share of the rent from a property portfolio without managing any tenants yourself. In 2025, their average distribution rate for investors resident in France stood at 4.91% according to ASPIM, with real spreads: 4.2% for residential SCPIs, 6% for diversified ones.

One detail changes everything for our purposes here. The large majority of SCPIs distribute their income every quarter, and only a minority of the roughly 200 active SCPIs pay out every month. Before subscribing, check the frequency in the quarterly bulletin or the information notice.

Two other factors weigh on the net return. Subscription fees, often close to 10%, erode your invested capital from the outset, and the tax treatment of property income is heavy: for a taxpayer in the 30% bracket, that 4.91% gross figure shrinks to around 2.6% net.

SCPIs invested abroad often benefit from lighter taxation thanks to tax treaties. To go further, we compared SCPIs and crowdlending for regular income.

Listed property companies and monthly-distributing ETFs

Some listed property companies, mostly American (REITs), pay a dividend every month. Certain "distributing" ETFs do the same. Advantage: you can sell on the stock exchange on any trading day.

The trade-offs are well known: volatile share price, dividend never guaranteed, withholding tax on foreign securities, and most ETFs are accumulating, meaning they pay out nothing at all. Read the product sheet carefully.

Investments that pay out less often, but can be smoothed

Quarterly SCPIs, dividend stocks, bonds

A quarterly payment isn't a disqualifying flaw. It simply calls for a bit of organisation.

French companies most often pay their dividend once a year, in spring. Bonds held directly generally pay an annual coupon. Quarterly SCPIs, for their part, typically distribute within the month following each quarter, which leaves two quiet months between transfers.

The solution fits in one sentence: route these payments through a buffer account, then pay yourself a fixed amount every month. Simple, isn't it? Example: €1,500 received every quarter, parked in a savings account, becomes €500 a month through a standing order.

💡 Within a PEA (France's tax-advantaged equity savings plan), dividends are exempt from income tax after five years of holding, with only social contributions still due. A good wrapper for the equity portion of a long-term supplementary income strategy for investors resident in France.

Vehicles that produce drawn-down or lifetime income

Assurance-vie: scheduled partial withdrawals

Assurance-vie, the French life-insurance savings wrapper, pays out nothing on its own; however, you can ask your insurer for a scheduled partial withdrawal: a fixed amount, paid into your account every month.

The euro-denominated fund returned around 2.6% on average in 2025. Its main advantage is tax-related. Only the gains portion contained in each withdrawal is taxed, and after eight years of holding, an annual allowance of €4,600 (€9,200 for a couple) applies to these gains. Income from assurance-vie contracts also escaped the 2026 CSG increase.

The limit lies in simple arithmetic. If you withdraw more than the contract earns, the capital shrinks. With €100,000 invested at a 3% net return and €500 withdrawn every month, the contract runs dry after about 23 years. That may be exactly what you're aiming for, provided you know it from the outset.

Lifetime annuity: income for life, in exchange for the capital

At retirement, the capital held in an assurance-vie contract or a PER (France's personal pension plan) can be converted into a lifetime annuity: a monthly payment guaranteed for as long as you live. It's the only solution that protects you against the risk of outliving your savings.

In exchange, the capital is permanently transferred to the insurer, except under specific options (reversion to a spouse, guaranteed annuity periods). The amount depends on your age and mortality tables, and is fixed once and for all.

For an annuity derived from an assurance-vie contract, only a fraction is taxable, determined by your age at the first payment: 70% before age 50; 50% between ages 50 and 59; 40% between ages 60 and 69; 30% from age 70 onward. For a PER, the treatment depends on whether your contributions were deducted when paid in.

Savings accounts: the reserve, not the income

Since 1 August 2026, the Livret A and the LDDS pay 1.7% and the LEP 2.5%, net of tax, for investors resident in France. But their interest is credited only once a year. And to collect €500 a month at 1.7%, you'd need about €353,000… when the Livret A is capped at €22,950.

Their real role lies elsewhere: precautionary savings, and the buffer pocket used to smooth out other payments. If you've already hit the cap, our guide Livret A full: where to put your money takes over from there.

Comparison table: how much does each investment pay out?

Assumptions: investor resident in France, 30% marginal tax bracket, 31.4% PFU flat tax on interest and dividends. Crowdlending: 7 to 10% gross after defaults. Equities: 3 to 5% gross dividend. SCPI: 4.91% gross (2025 average), the upper end of the range corresponding to SCPIs invested abroad. Excluding entry fees and inflation. Indicative orders of magnitude, not a promise of returns.

How much capital for how much supplementary income?

The basic calculation fits in one line:

Required capital = targeted annual net income ÷ net return

For €500 a month, i.e. €6,000 a year, at a 4% net return, you therefore need €150,000. Here is the full grid:

This formula assumes you never touch the capital. It's the most conservative assumption, one of an income stream that could last indefinitely.

Accepting that you'll gradually draw down your savings greatly reduces the sum required. Conversely, the formula ignores inflation: a fixed income of €500 loses purchasing power every year. Aiming for a higher return reduces the capital you need to raise, but mechanically increases the risk. Before deciding, take the time to assess an investment's risk methodically.

Three profiles, three combinations

These examples are illustrative. They show orders of magnitude, not an allocation to copy.

Profile 1: 35 years old, twenty years ahead

Goal: €500 of supplementary income a month at age 55, in today's euros. With 2% annual inflation, you'll actually need to receive about €740 in 2046.

At a 4.5% net return once in the annuity phase, this calls for capital of roughly €198,000. To reach it in twenty years at a 5% net return, the required savings effort runs around €490 a month. Ignoring inflation, this would drop to €330… but the resulting income would be worth less.

The key point of this profile: for twenty years, income must not be taken out, but reinvested instead. That's the whole point of compound interest, and of automatic reinvestment tools such as AutoInvest in crowdlending.

Profile 2: 50 years old, ten years to prepare for retirement

Goal: €1,000 a month at age 60, still in today's euros, i.e. about €1,220 in 2036. Capital targeted at a 4.5% net return: close to €325,000.

This profile already has €120,000 invested. At a 4% net return, it will grow to about €178,000 in ten years. That leaves a bit over €1,000 a month to save over the period.

That's a lot, and it's normal: ten years is short! Three levers can ease the pressure. Agreeing to draw down part of the capital during retirement, converting part of the savings into a lifetime annuity, or revising the target downward.

Profile 3: capital already available

A property sale or an inheritance has just released €150,000, and the goal is to start receiving income right away.

First step: keep about €20,000 in savings accounts, as a precaution and buffer pocket. With the remaining €130,000, a diversified allocation could look like this:

The result is often surprising. With €150,000, you get about €350 net a month without touching the capital, far from the €1,000 sometimes promised.

💡 Crowdlending makes up 20% of the allocation here for nearly a third of the income. Tempted to increase its share? That's precisely where the risk concentrates. A measured fraction of your savings, spread across many loans, remains the rule.

Building a payment schedule that lands every month

A reliable regular supplementary income almost never rests on a single investment. It's built in three layers.

The foundation first: vehicles that pay out spontaneously every month, such as crowdlending, rent or monthly SCPIs. They provide a base flow, with no action required.

Next, the spaced-out payments. Dividends, coupons and quarterly distributions land in the buffer pocket, and a standing order pays you a fixed amount every month. Calibrate this amount a little below the expected average: better a month of margin than a month overdrawn.

Finally, the annual review. Once a year, compare what you actually received with what you expected, adjust the monthly transfer and rebalance the building blocks. Also keep in mind the liquidity of each investment: the day you need to recover some capital, not every building block will sell equally fast.

Mistakes to avoid

Thinking in gross terms. Between a headline 4.91% and 2.6% actually received, almost half the income disappears. All your calculations should start from the net figure.

Forgetting inflation. A target of €500 set today won't be worth €500 in twenty years. Index your target.

Betting everything on a single building block. A tenant who leaves, an SCPI that cuts its dividend, a borrower who defaults: every vehicle has its own Achilles' heel. Combine them.

Overlooking entry fees. A 10% subscription fee on an SCPI amounts to roughly two years of distributions spent just paying it back.

Key takeaways

Very few investments genuinely pay out money every month. Crowdlending, rental property and a minority of SCPIs do. The rest pay quarterly or annually, and assurance-vie only reconstitutes income by drawing down your own savings.

The figure that matters is net income, after tax and inflation. Once that figure is set, the required capital follows: €150,000 at a 4% net return for €500 a month, twice as much for €1,000.

Finally, a solid monthly supplementary income rests on several building blocks and a buffer pocket. Higher-yielding vehicles have their place within it, in a measured share.

Frequently asked questions

Which investment should you choose for monthly supplementary income?

Crowdlending, rental property, certain SCPIs and a few listed property companies pay out spontaneously every month. The right choice depends on your capital, your tax situation and the level of risk you're willing to accept. Most often, combining several vehicles produces more stable income.

How much capital is needed for €1,000 of monthly supplementary income?

You need about €300,000 at a 4% net return, €240,000 at 5% and €400,000 at 3%, without touching the capital. These amounts fall if you accept gradually drawing down your savings, and rise if you want to protect this income from inflation.

Can you receive income every month without eating into your capital?

Yes, provided you only withdraw what the investments actually produce. Rent, interest and dividends can be collected without selling anything. Scheduled assurance-vie withdrawals exceeding the contract's return, on the other hand, do consume the capital.

Is supplementary income from investments taxable?

Yes, with exceptions. Interest and dividends carry the 31.4% PFU flat tax in 2026, rental income is taxed at the standard scale plus 17.2% in social contributions. Regulated savings accounts are tax-exempt, and both assurance-vie and the PEA benefit from reduced taxation after a certain holding period.

What supplementary income should you target for retirement?

It all depends on the gap between your future pension and your expected expenses. Many aim for €500 to €1,000 a month. The earlier you start, the more reasonable the required monthly savings effort, thanks to compound interest.

An income that genuinely lands every month is something you build: a net target, a realistic amount of capital, several building blocks and a buffer pocket to smooth it all out. Crowdlending can rightfully claim a place in that mix, since it's one of the few vehicles paying monthly interest from as little as €50, provided you keep its share limited and diversify properly. So, how much would you like to see arrive every month?

The content of this article is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, financial, tax or legal advice. Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and crowdlending investments carry a risk of partial or total loss of capital. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Liquidity on a secondary market is not guaranteed. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult qualified advisors before making any financial decision. The availability of products and services may be restricted in certain jurisdictions.