Retirement Portfolio Calculator

The Altersvorsorgedepot is Germany's new government-subsidized retirement product from the reform of private retirement provision (Retirement Provision Reform Act of 26 May 2026, Federal Law Gazette 2026 I No. 156). From 1 January 2027, you can use it to save for retirement with stocks, funds and ETFs – without a guarantee requirement or an insurance wrapper. The government subsidizes contributions with direct allowances and tax benefits. It replaces the Riester pension as the subsidized product for new contracts.

For the first €360 of own contribution per year, you receive 50 cents allowance per euro (max. €180); for contributions from €361 to €1,800, a further 25 cents per euro (max. €360). The maximum base allowance is therefore €540 per year at an own contribution of €1,800 – equivalent to a savings rate of €150 per month. On top of that come child allowances, the starter bonus for young savers, and potentially an additional tax benefit via the best-outcome check. All allowances require a minimum own contribution of €120 per year (Sec. 86 EStG as amended).

Each child earns a child allowance of up to €300 per year as a 1:1 match: every euro you pay in yourself is doubled up to €300. You therefore reach the full child allowance with just €25 own contribution per month – considerably easier than under the Riester pension, which required 4% of gross income for the same effect.

Anyone who is younger than 25 at the start of the contribution year receives a one-off starter bonus of €200 from the government into the portfolio (Sec. 84 sentence 2 EStG as amended). Combined with the long investment horizon, this bonus keeps compounding for decades.

In most cases, yes: the allowances act like an immediate return of up to 50% on the first contributions, the accumulation phase is tax-free (no capital gains tax, no advance lump-sum taxation), and the payout is only taxed in retirement at your then usually lower personal tax rate. An unsubsidized ETF savings plan remains more flexible in return: you can access your money at any time and, on sale, pay capital gains tax on only 70% of the profit (partial exemption). Our calculator compares both options directly.

On a deferred basis: during the accumulation phase, returns stay completely tax-free, while payouts in retirement are taxed at your personal income tax rate. In addition, the tax office automatically checks (best-outcome check) whether the special-expense deduction – up to €1,800 own contribution plus allowance entitlement, i.e. a maximum of €2,340 without children – is more favorable than the allowances; the difference is refunded. In total, you can pay in up to €6,840 per year with tax relief.

At retirement, you can withdraw up to 30% of the capital as a lump sum. The remainder is paid out via a withdrawal plan until at least age 85. Unlike Riester, there is no longer a requirement to convert the capital into an annuity through an insurance product.

Existing Riester contracts continue under their previous terms and can still be paid into. From 2027, a conversion into the new subsidy system will often be possible as well. Whether switching is worthwhile depends on the guarantees, costs and remaining term of the old contract.