Start: 01.01.2027Legal status checked: 13/10/2026
A retirement savings account is a savings contract for old age in which your money is invested, for example in funds. The state can add money. However, the value can also fall, and you usually only get the money in old age.
Understand the basics
- What is a retirement savings account?
- A contract with a bank or insurance company into which you pay regularly for old age. The money is invested, for example in funds or ETFs.
- What can the state add?
- Up to €540 a year for you, up to €300 per child and a one-time €200 for young people under 25. For this, you must pay in at least €120 a year yourself and be eligible for subsidies – for example as an employee.
- Can I lose money?
- Yes. Without a guarantee, the value can fall, even shortly before the start of retirement. There are also contracts with a guarantee – but the chances are smaller there.
- When do I get the money?
- Usually between 65 and 70 years of age, as a monthly payment. You can only access the money beforehand in exceptional cases, otherwise you have to pay back the subsidy.
- What applies in my situation?
- Who gets a subsidy?Calculate with my amountI might move abroadRiester, children, inheritance and more
How it works
- 1.
You pay in
- 2.
The state can add money
- 3.
The money is invested for a long time
The value can rise or fall.
- 4.
Payout in old age
For a person who is eligible for subsidies, without children.
- Your payment per month
- €30
- Your payment per year
- €360
- Money from the state per year
- + €180
- Together per year
- = €540
You pay €30 per month, so €360 per year. The state adds €180. Together, €540 flows into the contract per year.
Before costs and without value development. For small amounts, the state's share is highest.
Calculate with my amountWho gets a subsidy?
Mainly everyone who is compulsorily insured in the statutory pension insurance in Germany – so most employees, apprentices and people who receive unemployment benefit. From 2027, many self-employed people can also be included.
Whether you have a German passport does not matter for the subsidies. The same requirements apply.
Employed – with or without a German passport
Anyone who works in employment subject to social security contributions is pension-insured and thus eligible for subsidies. A caregiver with a Serbian passport and an office clerk with a German passport are treated the same. Exception: Anyone who has been exempted from pension insurance in a mini-job is not compulsorily insured.
Self-employed or in a professional pension scheme
From 2027, self-employed people under 67 can be subsidized if they have income from trade or freelance work and submit a tax return for the year. Compulsory members of a professional pension scheme (Versorgungswerk), for example employed doctors or lawyers, must additionally consent to the professional pension scheme informing the allowance office (Zulagenstelle). Self-employed people who are compulsorily insured, such as many craftspeople, are already eligible for subsidies.
Married, but not eligible for subsidies yourself
If only one of you is eligible, the other can receive indirect subsidies. They need their own contract and must pay in at least €120 a year themselves. Their basic allowance depends on the eligible partner's contributions and is at most €175 a year. If the old rules still apply to the eligible partner because they only have a contract from before 2027, there is no allowance for a new contract of the other partner. This changes as soon as the new rules apply to them – because they chose them with their provider or took out a new contract themselves (§ 52(50a) and § 90(2) EStG, from 2027). The calculator does not cover this case.
Saving pause, unemployment, new life situation
Eligibility is checked every year. In a year without eligibility or with less than €120 payment, there is no allowance – but the contract and savings remain. With unemployment benefit (Arbeitslosengeld), you usually remain pension-insured; with citizen's benefit (Bürgergeld) alone, you usually do not. A saving pause has no further consequences.
Children, existing Riester contracts and other cases can be found under Special life situations
Who decides on the allowance?
The Central Allowance Office for Retirement Assets (Zentrale Zulagenstelle für Altersvermögen, ZfA) at the German Pension Insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung Bund). It checks your claim and transfers the allowance to your provider. You usually apply once through the provider (permanent allowance application).
Sources: Federal Law Gazette: Retirement Savings Reform Act (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 156) · Central Allowance Office for Retirement Assets (Zentrale Zulagenstelle für Altersvermögen)
Retirement savings account or normal depot?
- Is there money from the state?
- Retirement savings account: Yes, if you are eligible for subsidies.
- Normal depot: No.
- Can I access my money at any time?
- Retirement savings account: No, only in old age. Only in exceptional cases before that.
- Normal depot: Yes, basically at any time.
- How is it paid out?
- Retirement savings account: According to fixed rules, usually monthly. The payout is fully taxed.
- Normal depot: However you want. Gains are taxed when sold.
How is the money invested?
Usually in funds or ETFs. An ETF is a fund that is traded on the stock exchange and bundles many investments – for example, stocks of many companies from all over the world, but also bonds. You can also choose a contract with a guarantee: Then 80% or 100% of your payments are safe at the start of retirement, but the investment is more cautious.
Without a guarantee, losses are possible – even over several years and even at the end of the saving period.
How do I get the money later?
The payout usually begins at the earliest at 65 and at the latest at 70. You choose between two forms:
Lifelong pension
You get money every month until the end of your life – no matter how old you get.
Payout plan with a fixed end
The money is paid out until an agreed age, at least until 85. After that, the payments stop, even if you are still alive. Whatever is left at the end goes to you or your heirs.
Example: payout from age 65.
Access the money beforehand? Only in exceptional cases, such as for your own apartment. Otherwise, you must pay back the subsidy.
- Basic allowance: 50% on the first €360 of your payment per year, then 25% up to €1,800. Maximum €540 per year.
- Child allowance: for each child assigned to you, as much as you pay yourself – maximum €300 per year. Only as long as there is child benefit (Kindergeld) for the child.
- Career starter bonus: a one-time €200 if you are younger than 25 at the start of the year and have never received it before.
- Minimum payment: €120 per year. Below that, there is no allowance.
- A total of maximum €1,800 of your payments per year are subsidized – no matter how many contracts you have. You can pay in up to €6,840 per year per contract; a maximum of two contracts are subsidized.
Sources: Federal Law Gazette: Retirement Savings Reform Act (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 156) · Federal Government: Questions and answers on the reform of private retirement provision
What types of contracts are there?
Retirement savings account without a guarantee, for example with ETFs. Standard depot: a simple offer with a predefined investment for everyone who does not want to choose themselves; the effective costs may be a maximum of 1%. Guarantee product: 80% or 100% of payments guaranteed at the start of retirement.
Payout in detail
Earlier than 65 is possible if a statutory old-age pension or civil service pension begins before then. At the start of retirement, up to 30% of the capital can be paid out at once without losing the subsidy. With a lifelong pension, 80% pension and 20% further invested capital are also possible. With a payout plan, the monthly rate is recalculated at least every three years. All payouts are taxed.
What happens if I withdraw money beforehand?
If you have subsidized money paid out to yourself before the payout starts, this is considered "harmful use" (schädliche Verwendung): you must pay back allowances and tax benefits. Switching to another certified contract, on the other hand, is allowed and does not cost you the subsidy.
Sources: Federal Law Gazette: Retirement Savings Reform Act (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 156) · Income Tax Act § 93 (harmful use)
- Depot
- An account for securities such as funds or ETFs.
- ETF
- An exchange-traded fund that bundles many investments and usually tracks an index. Not every ETF contains stocks.
- Allowance
- Money from the state that flows directly into your contract.
- Own contribution
- Your own payment into the contract.
- Return
- The value development per year in percent. It can also be negative.
- Effective costs
- By how many percentage points all costs combined reduce the return per year.
- Saving phase
- The time during which you pay in.
- Payout phase
- The time during which you receive money from the contract – usually from 65 onwards.
🔒 Your entries remain only in this window and are not saved.
Your details
That is €1,800 per year.
Who receives the child allowance depends on child benefit and your family situation. It is paid only once for the same child.
The calculator applies if you are entitled to subsidies yourself. Subsidies only through your spouse are not included here. The calculator does not check whether you are entitled. Who gets subsidies?
This much could flow into your contract in one year
Result: Your payment €1,800, money from the state €540, together €2,340 in one year.
Your payment and money from the state
▮ your payment: €1,800▯ from the state: €540
What could this become in the long term?
A model calculation with fixed assumptions, not a forecast. The value can also fall.
The calculation is done with these example assumptions:
30 years of saving · 4 % return before costs · 1 % effective costs · constant payment
After 30 years, the model calculation results in around €111,000 – after costs, before taxes.
Your payments€54,000
Money from the state€16,200
Value increase after costs€41,100
Model value (after costs, before taxes)€111,000
For comparison: What the costs make up
Without costs, it would be around €131,000, with costs around €111,000. The costs therefore reduce the value by around €19,900.
Not taken into account: taxes, fluctuations, later legal changes. Values rounded.
- Payments and allowances for a year are mathematically credited at the end of the year. In reality, you usually pay monthly and the allowance comes later via the allowance office (Zulagenstelle).
- The allowance is recalculated every year according to the rules from 2027; amounts and limits remain the same in the calculation.
- The balance grows every year with the return before costs minus the effective costs, with compound interest.
- The cost comparison calculates the same without costs and shows the difference.
- Child allowances count only for the specified years, the career starter bonus only once.
- Long-term values are rounded because an exact number would falsely suggest a security that does not exist.
What does a retirement savings account cost?
Every contract costs money – for the funds and for the provider. These costs reduce your return every year.
For the standard depot, the effective costs are limited to a maximum of 1%. This limit does not exist for other contracts.
What are effective costs?
Effective costs summarize all costs of a contract and show them as a reduction in return: by how many percentage points the return per year drops. This is not a simple fee on your balance, but a legally defined calculation figure. Providers must specify it in the product information sheet.
What costs are there?
Ongoing costs of the funds or ETFs as well as costs of the provider for the contract and depot, for example acquisition or administrative costs.
MeaNext does not compare providers as long as there is no reliable product data.
Sources: Federal Government: Questions and answers on the reform of private retirement provision · Federal Law Gazette: Retirement Savings Reform Act (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 156)
How is it taxed?
1. Money from the state
The allowance flows directly into the contract. You don't have to apply for anything at the tax office.
2. Maybe a tax advantage
During the tax return, the tax office checks whether a deduction of your payments brings more than the allowance. You only get the difference back additionally.
3. Taxes in old age
Whatever is based on subsidized payments is fully taxed as income in old age.
For payments that were not subsidized (for example above €1,800 a year), basically only the earnings are taxed later.
The calculator only shows the allowances. It does not calculate a possible additional tax advantage or the later tax.
Moving abroad can change your subsidies and your taxes. Choose your country and the timing – then you will see what matters.
Choose a country to see the appropriate orientation.
Residence counts, not the passport
Crucial is where you have your residence or habitual abode from the start and during the payout and where you are considered tax resident. Your nationality plays no role.
What does EU/EEA mean?
The 27 states of the European Union as well as Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. Switzerland is not one of them. States outside are often called third countries.
Residence in the EU or EEA
The special repayment according to § 95 EStG does not apply solely because of the residence. Taxes can still apply. If you are considered resident outside according to a double taxation agreement, it may look different.
Residence outside the EU/EEA
From the start or during the payout, previous allowances and separately determined tax benefits are usually reclaimed. The depot itself is not lost.
Sources: Income Tax Act § 95 (Residence outside the EU/EEA) · European Union: Member States
Moving while I save
The contract continues and can be made contribution-free. New allowances are only available if you continue to be eligible for subsidies. For the repayment, where you live from the start of the payout counts.
Moving after the start of the payout
The rule applies during the entire payout. Anyone moving outside the EU/EEA then can also have to pay back. A move within the EU/EEA does not trigger this.
Leaving and coming back
A stay outside the EU/EEA while you save does not lead to a repayment alone if you live in the EU/EEA again from the start of the payout.
I don't know yet where I will live later
That is normal. Crucial is the situation from the start of the payout, not your planning today.
With multiple residences, it can be crucial where you are considered tax resident. A double taxation agreement between the states can regulate which country is allowed to tax. The tax office or a tax advisor can clarify this.
Special life situations
For contracts from before 2027, the old subsidy rules continue to apply until the start of the payout. The contract terms of your contract do not change as a result of the reform. Classic Riester contracts can no longer be concluded as new contracts from 2027.
Keep contract
You continue to pay in and stay with the old subsidy rules.
Make contribution-free
You pay in nothing more. The savings remain in the contract and remain subsidized. There is no allowance for years without payment.
Switch to the new subsidy rules
You can declare to the provider that the new subsidy rules should apply to your old contracts. This then applies to all your old contracts and cannot be taken back.
Transfer money to a new contract
The old provider transfers the balance directly to a new certified contract. The subsidy is preserved. Costs may arise when switching.
Have money paid out to me
If you cancel and have the money paid out to yourself, you must pay back allowances and tax benefits.
Important: If you conclude a new retirement savings contract from 2027 onwards, the new subsidy rules automatically apply to all your contracts – including the old ones (§ 52 Abs. 50a EStG). Old and new rules in parallel do not exist.
Sources: Income Tax Act § 52 (transitional rules) · Federal Law Gazette: Retirement Savings Reform Act (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 156)
For each child assigned to you, the state adds as much as you pay yourself – maximum €300 per year. The child allowance is only available as long as child benefit (Kindergeld) is paid for the child, and only for one parent for the same child.
Who gets the child allowance?
2027: If the parents are of different sexes, married to each other, not permanently separated and living in the EU or EEA, the allowance generally goes to the mother – to the father on joint application. In all other cases it goes to the parent for whom child benefit has been set. From 2028 it generally goes to the parent who receives child benefit; parents who meet these requirements can jointly apply for a different assignment. The declaration goes to the provider.
Sources: Federal Law Gazette: Retirement Savings Reform Act (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 156)
- A maximum of two contracts are subsidized. Payments into a third one no longer count as subsidized retirement savings.
- Indirectly eligible persons are basically subsidized through one contract.
- You can pay in up to €6,840 per year per contract. A total of maximum €1,800 per year are subsidized.
There are statutory exceptions for certain uses for owner-occupied residential property. Before a withdrawal, clarify with the provider and the allowance office (Zulagenstelle) whether your plans are included.
During saving
The balance goes to the heirs.
During a payout plan
The remaining balance goes to the heirs.
With a lifelong pension
The payments basically end with death – unless a pension guarantee period or a benefit for survivors was agreed upon.
If subsidized balance is paid out to heirs, the allowances and tax benefits attributable to it are reclaimed.
Exception: The balance is transferred to a separate contract of the spouse. For this, the spouses must not have lived permanently separated at the time of death and must have resided in the EU or EEA.
Inheritance tax is a separate question. The tax office or a tax advisor can provide advice on this.
Sources: Income Tax Act § 93 (harmful use)
There is no complete overview yet. The first certified offers are expected from 01.01.2027. MeaNext will later show neutral product data here without ranking and without a paid order.
- 13/10/2026 – Guide and calculator revised, rules cross-checked with the legal text.
- 29/05/2026 – Law announced in the Federal Law Gazette; start of new contracts on January 1st, 2027.
Next steps
What this page does – and what it doesn't
MeaNext explains the statutory rules in general and names the sources. The page does not check whether you are eligible for subsidies and does not recommend a contract. Calculation results are based on the stated assumptions. Laws and administrative practice can change, and errors are possible despite careful examination. The allowance office (Zulagenstelle), provider and tax office decide bindingly.
Federal Law Gazette: Retirement Savings Reform Act (BGBl. 2026 I Nr. 156)
- State of information
- May 2026
- Last checked
- 13/10/2026
Federal Government: Questions and answers on the reform of private retirement provision
- State of information
- June 2026
- Last checked
- 13/10/2026
German Pension Insurance: Reform of private retirement provision
- State of information
- May 2026
- Last checked
- 13/10/2026
Income Tax Act § 95 (Residence outside the EU/EEA)
- State of information
- October 2026
- Last checked
- 13/10/2026