Altersvorsorgedepot 2027: all the key facts at a glance

Tilman Freyenhagen

Published on 15 June 2026 · Updated on 15 July 2026 · Managing Director & Partner, Alsterspree Verlag GmbH

The start date and legal basis of the Altersvorsorgedepot

The key facts about the Altersvorsorgedepot 2027 give private savers reliable orientation for their future retirement provision. The official start date for the new Altersvorsorgedepot is 1 January 2027, anchored in the law reforming tax-subsidised private retirement provision (Altersvorsorgereformgesetz)^[1]. As the modern successor to the Riester-Rente, the new model is meant to help close existing pension gaps in Germany more effectively, through a return-oriented, state-supported capital investment.

With the Altersvorsorgereformgesetz, the legislature responds to changed conditions in the capital markets. Unlike the old Riester system, the Altersvorsorgedepot has no obligatory contribution guarantee^[1]. This lets savers invest the capital they've built up entirely in higher-potential ETFs and investment funds. Our knowledge section gives you detailed background reports on this, to make the regulatory changes easy to follow.

Thanks to this legislative realignment, from 2027 you'll benefit from flexible, high-return private provision that can be tailored to your circumstances. To simulate the exact effects on your personal savings rate and possible subsidies in advance, our subsidy calculator is available to you free of charge.

Not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG. All calculations and figures are for illustrative purposes only.

The two-tier basic allowance: how the new subsidy model works

With the introduction of the Altersvorsorgedepot in 2027, state subsidies for private retirement provision in Germany are being fundamentally redesigned. Instead of fixed allowance amounts, a transparent, two-tier subsidy model applies, based directly on your own payments in. For the first 360 euros you pay into your account each year, you get a state subsidy of 50 percent, equivalent to an allowance of up to 180 euros. For every further euro up to a total contribution of 1,800 euros, the state grants an allowance of 25 percent. This raises the maximum annual basic allowance to a total of 540 euros^[1]. This change is a marked improvement on the old Riester provision, since savers can now provide for their own future with far more flexibility and stronger returns.

This two-tier principle ensures that even savers with smaller contributions benefit disproportionately from the state subsidy. Even at the minimum contribution of 120 euros a year, you secure a basic allowance of 60 euros. Anyone who uses the maximum subsidised amount of 1,800 euros receives the full basic allowance of 540 euros credited directly to the Altersvorsorgedepot. For an individual calculation of your personal allowances, our digital subsidy calculator is available, which also takes account of specifics such as child allowances. To plan your personal accumulation phase, you can find detailed information in the knowledge section. For a detailed breakdown of your individual retirement strategy, our independent advice service can also help, putting you in touch with licensed partners.

The child allowance: state support for families

For families, the new Altersvorsorgedepot offers particularly attractive state support from its launch on 1 January 2027, through the newly designed child allowance. For every child with an active entitlement to Kindergeld (child benefit), the state pays an allowance of up to 300 euros per calendar year directly into the subsidised account^[2]. This state assistance is meant to significantly ease private retirement provision for parents and speed up long-term wealth-building via high-return financial products such as ETFs or funds, without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.

• Maximum allowance amount: up to 300 euros per child entitled to Kindergeld, per calendar year.
• Subsidy rate: a direct 1:1 match, where every euro paid in is matched by a euro of allowance.
• No percentage-based income limit: payment of the child allowance is not tied to a percentage-based minimum contribution.
• Payment route: the credit is paid directly into the Altersvorsorgedepot of the eligible parent.

The working principle of the so-called 1:1 matching is a substantial simplification compared with the old Riester subsidy. If, as an eligible parent, you pay an own contribution of, say, 300 euros a year into your Altersvorsorgedepot, you get the full 300 euros added as a child allowance from the state, provided the statutory requirements are met. There are no percentage-based minimum income thresholds or complicated calculation formulas based on your individual prior-year income for receiving this specific allowance, which makes financial planning enormously easier for young families.

We see ourselves as your neutral guide through the upcoming reform of private retirement provision. Through our knowledge section, we give you all the legislative changes and BMF-backed details free of charge. If you want to simulate the exact effects of the child allowance on your personal retirement forecast, our source-based subsidy calculator works out your state allowances in seconds. For families who want tailored protection and prefer direct contact with experts, our ^[3]independent advice service also offers reliable access to licensed, independent financial advisers.

The Berufseinsteiger-Bonus: an extra contribution for young savers under 25

From 2027, the legislature provides special financial start-up help for young people with the new Altersvorsorgedepot. Anyone who opens such an account before turning 25 and is eligible for the subsidy receives a one-off Berufseinsteiger-Bonus (career-starter bonus) of 200 euros^[4]. This special allowance is meant to make it easier for young employees and apprentices to get started with capital-market-based retirement provision, and it is credited directly to the account. All the further requirements can be read in detail on the knowledge section.

The leverage effect of long-term compounding

This start-up contribution's real strength only unfolds over the decades. Because the Altersvorsorgedepot, unlike the old Riester-Rente, has no contribution guarantee, the entire capital, including the allowances, can be invested 100 percent in high-return equity ETFs^[5]. With this approach, compounding works especially effectively over a typical investment horizon of 40 years or more. A one-off special payment of 200 euros at the start of your working life can therefore grow into a noticeable extra building block of capital by the time you retire.

• One-off grant: the 200-euro bonus is credited exactly once, when you first take out the account.
• Age limit: the account must be contractually taken out before your 25th birthday.
• Additional subsidy: the bonus is paid on top of the regular basic allowance, provided the minimum own contributions are made.
• Compounding effect: through the long-term investment in the equity market, the special payment benefits from compound interest over several decades.

To calculate your personal subsidy amount and the account's potential development with and without the career-starter bonus, it's worth looking at the interactive subsidy calculator. This tool calculates your individual allowance entitlements transparently, on a source basis, for your specific life situation. Please note that all calculations and mathematical projections are illustrative examples only and do not constitute investment advice within the meaning of Section 1 paragraph 1a number 1a KWG.

Minimum own contribution and maximum subsidised contribution in detail

The size of your state subsidy for the Altersvorsorgedepot depends largely on your own contributions. To be able to claim any entitlement to allowances at all, an annual minimum own contribution of 120 euros applies from 2027. The maximum subsidised own contribution is capped by law at 1,800 euros a year, on top of which further state allowances can be added.

The contribution limits at a glance

The minimum own contribution of 120 euros a year (equivalent to 10 euros a month) acts as the absolute floor. Payments below this threshold trigger no state subsidy. Above this threshold, the allowance is calculated in proportion to your payments, up to the maximum subsidised contribution of 1,800 euros. Amounts beyond this limit are no longer directly subsidised, but still benefit during the accumulation phase from the tax-free reinvestment of returns inside the account. In total, savers can pay up to 6,840 euros a year into their subsidised Altersvorsorgedepot^[1].

For detailed planning of your individual payments, the knowledge section provides comprehensive analysis. You can also use the subsidy calculator to work out and compare your personal allowance amount and the long-term effects of different contributions directly. This offering is intended as a mathematical illustration and does not constitute investment advice within the meaning of Section 1 paragraph 1a number 1a KWG.

The end of the contribution guarantee: higher return potential with ETFs

Probably the most far-reaching change in the reform of private retirement provision is the departure from the previous rigid 100 percent contribution guarantee, which structurally held back the returns of conventional Riester contracts^[1]. Because providers were legally required to nominally guarantee all contributions paid in by the start of retirement, they had to park a large share of the capital in low-risk but stable-value interest-bearing investments. In particular during long periods of low interest rates, there was hardly any room left for higher-return real assets such as equities or ETFs. With the new Altersvorsorgedepot, this obligation disappears entirely, opening up completely new prospects for savers.

• 0 percent guarantee: the pure Altersvorsorgedepot does entirely without a contribution guarantee and allows a 100 percent investment in low-cost ETFs and equities, to capture maximum market performance for long-term wealth-building.
• 80 percent guarantee: this new option protects most of the capital paid in, but gives the provider more flexibility to invest a portion of the assets for returns than under the old Riester system.
• 100 percent guarantee: full capital preservation remains available on request for very security-conscious savers through classic insurance products, but comes with significantly reduced return potential.

This added flexibility means you can tailor your private retirement provision exactly to your risk appetite. Anyone with many years left until retirement can make full use of the historically proven return potential of the global equity market. In our knowledge section we explain this system change in detail, to give you neutral guidance. With our interactive subsidy calculator, you can simulate the different scenarios for your personal savings rate. Important note: all calculations and model computations on our portal are for information and comparison purposes only. This does not constitute investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG.

Tax treatment: deferred taxation and the special-expenses deduction

From 2027, the Altersvorsorgedepot offers savers substantial tax advantages, meant to accelerate wealth-building for private retirement provision. During the accumulation phase, you benefit from a complete tax exemption on the returns generated inside the account. Neither the annual advance lump-sum tax (Vorabpauschale) nor the flat-rate withholding tax (Abgeltungsteuer) applies to realised gains or distributions, so the compounding effect can be used to the full. The tax subsidy is governed by the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF), which sets out that contributions paid in are tax-deductible up to a certain ceiling^[1]. To find out how this relief affects your personal savings rate, you can run calculations through the subsidy calculator.

• Special-expenses deduction and favourability check: your own contributions can be claimed as special expenses (Sonderausgaben) in your tax return, within the statutory limit. The tax office automatically runs a favourability check (Günstigerprüfung). If the special-expenses deduction produces a bigger saving than the direct state allowance, the difference is credited via your tax refund.
• Tax-free reinvestment: all dividends, interest and capital gains stay tax-free inside the account throughout the entire accumulation phase and can be reinvested directly.
• Principle of deferred taxation: the returns and subsidised contributions are taxed only in the payout phase during retirement. Because your personal tax rate in old age is generally significantly lower than during your working life, most savers get a noticeable tax advantage.

Thanks to this combination of an immediate special-expenses deduction and deferred taxation, the account suits high earners and families alike. The neutral knowledge section offers you deeper analysis of the legal basis. Please note that the tax effects always depend on your individual circumstances. This overview is for information purposes only and does not constitute investment advice (not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG).

Riester switching rules: grandfathering and the switching-cost cap

With the launch of the new Altersvorsorgedepot in 2027, millions of Riester-Rente contract holders face the question of whether transferring their capital makes sense. Existing contracts enjoy comprehensive grandfathering (Bestandsschutz). You can suspend contributions to your Riester-Rente contract or keep it running unchanged. If you decide to transfer, a statutory switching-cost cap applies: the transferring provider may charge a maximum of 150 euros for the transfer if it happens within five years of the contract being signed; after that, switching is free of charge^[1]. This cap makes switching to a higher-return Altersvorsorgedepot significantly easier.

To work out whether switching makes sense for you, taking into account the Riester capital you have already saved, our knowledge section provides neutral guides. Such a step should always be well prepared, since giving up the nominal contribution guarantee also brings market opportunities and risks. For a well-founded decision tailored to your personal circumstances, our independent advice service is also on hand, connecting you free of charge with licensed financial experts.

Please note: all comparisons and calculations are for information and illustration only. Not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG.