What to watch for when choosing an AVD provider? The checklist

Tilman Freyenhagen

Published on 14 June 2026 · Updated on 15 July 2026 · Managing Director & Partner, Alsterspree Verlag GmbH

The new Altersvorsorgedepot: why choosing a provider becomes crucial from 2027

With the launch of the state-subsidised Altersvorsorgedepot in 2027, the previous obligation for a contribution guarantee no longer applies, opening up entirely new return opportunities, but also requiring active comparison of providers^[1]. When choosing a provider for the Altersvorsorgedepot, you should check six points: total costs (account, order and savings-plan costs), the available ETF and fund range, the minimum savings rate and flexibility, the type of support, deposit protection, and service and transferability. Only a systematic assessment ensures that state allowances are not eaten up by unnecessary fees.

Return levers and fee effects

Since providers can now forgo contribution guarantees, your capital flows directly into the capital market. A cost-efficient account plays a decisive role in your eventual wealth, since even small cost differences add up massively over the decades through the compound-interest effect. Our digital subsidy calculator is available to transparently calculate this leverage effect for your personal planning. For well-founded comparisons, we bundle neutral analyses in our knowledge section. A structured set of criteria helps you keep an overview in the crowded market of neobrokers, banks and insurers.

Before concluding a contract, you should also keep the regulatory security aspects in view. Capital held in the account (such as ETFs or funds) is treated as Sondervermögen (segregated assets) at regulated account providers and is therefore fully protected from creditors' access even if the provider becomes insolvent, while cash balances on the settlement account are covered by statutory deposit protection. With this systematic checklist, you can filter offers independently and make a well-founded decision on which provider matches your long-term savings goals.

Criterion 1: analyse the cost structure in detail

For self-directed investors, the cost-effectiveness of the Altersvorsorgedepot comes first. Every fee directly reduces the compound-interest effect over the decades. When choosing the right provider, you should therefore systematically break down the cost structure. In addition to account management charges and transaction fees, the key components include the ongoing product costs (Total Expense Ratio, or TER) of the chosen ETFs or funds. As part of the reform, the federal government has set a statutory cost cap of a maximum of 1.0 percent a year for the standard product^[2]. A customer-friendly neobroker or account provider for independent investors should, however, undercut this ceiling significantly to ensure maximum efficiency.

To make it easier for you to evaluate providers independently, we have summarised the most important cost areas in an overview. This serves as a direct decision-making aid before opening an account. Use our knowledge section alongside this to get more in-depth details on regulatory developments and tax framework conditions. Please note for all cost comparisons: the criteria presented here serve general information purposes and do not constitute financial advice (not investment advice within the meaning of § 1 Abs. 1a Nr. 1a KWG).

A fair Altersvorsorgedepot is characterised by the provider forgoing unnecessary flat fees and giving you access to low-cost asset classes. If a provider already charges fees on account management or standard savings plans, you should look at alternative offers. A systematic fee comparison secures a noticeable long-term return advantage for your private retirement provision.

Criterion 2: check the breadth of the ETF and fund universe

For self-directed investors, independence in fund selection comes first. A strong provider for the new Altersvorsorgedepot must give you unrestricted access to broadly diversified, low-cost global ETFs such as the MSCI World or FTSE All-World^[3]. Only this way can you ensure that your state subsidy and your own contributions can develop maximum compound-interest effect and don't seep away into expensive product structures. Avoid providers who artificially restrict your investment universe or steer you towards in-house, actively managed funds through standardised defaults. These active products are often characterised by high distribution fees and hidden commissions, which noticeably erodes your long-term return.

As you can read in our knowledge section, the reformed law provides for the deliberate abandonment of rigid contribution guarantees from 2027, to enable a high-return capital investment of up to 100 percent in equity ETFs^[3]. But this newly gained freedom is of little use to you if the chosen broker artificially restricts the product universe or favours commission-based tariffs. To make optimal use of the benefits of state-subsidised ETF investing, you should analyse providers' product lists in detail beforehand. A trustworthy provider is characterised by maximum cost transparency and a provider-independent selection that you, as a self-directed investor, can flexibly pay into and reallocate.

Criterion 3: minimum savings rates and everyday flexibility

Long-term wealth building for retirement spans many decades and rarely runs in a straight line. Career paths change, periods of parental leave arise, or unplanned expenses temporarily require financial adjustments in everyday life. For self-directed investors, the operational flexibility of the chosen provider is therefore a decisive factor in adapting private retirement provision to life without additional penalty fees or bureaucratic hurdles. Modern online providers and direct banks today let you flexibly increase, reduce, or, if needed, pause your savings rates entirely free of charge at any time, within the framework of the statutory provisions.

Another important criterion when choosing a provider is as low a minimum savings rate as possible for the chosen investment products. While classic pension insurance policies often demand rigid monthly contributions of 25 or 50 euros, leading brokers and account platforms enable regular savings plans from a minimum savings rate of just one euro^[4]. This minimal threshold ensures that you can keep investing continuously even in financially tighter times, making optimal use of the compound-interest effect. For more in-depth analyses of the legal framework and the tax advantages, the knowledge section offers a range of neutral guides.

To calculate how changed savings rates or temporary contribution breaks affect your expected final capital and the state allowances in the long term, you can use the interactive subsidy calculator. Consistently look for this everyday flexibility when choosing a provider, so that the account adapts to your life situation and not the other way round. This keeps your private retirement provision manageable, liquid and straightforward across every phase of life.

Criterion 4: service channels and user interface

The service on offer plays a decisive role when choosing the right provider for your Altersvorsorgedepot. The market splits into two camps here: modern neobrokers rely almost exclusively on highly optimised, purely app-based user interfaces. For digitally savvy self-directed investors who want to manage and adjust their savings rates independently, such a streamlined interface is usually entirely sufficient. According to surveys by the Verbraucherzentrale, these providers score especially well on ease of use and low barriers to setting up digital ETF savings plans^[5]. If, however, you need comprehensive advice on complex tax details or the optimal asset allocation in retirement, pure app providers quickly reach their limits. In such cases, personal support or bringing in specialist advisers is advisable.

If you are unsure whether you want to manage your state-subsidised account entirely yourself through a neobroker or would prefer professional support, our knowledge section offers you the ideal basis for a decision. For more in-depth, personal support, our independent advice service is available to you. A neutral partner helps you avoid consequential mistakes when choosing a provider and ensures your investment strategy is optimally aligned with the state subsidy guidelines.

Criterion 5: understanding deposit protection and Sondervermögen

The security of your accumulated assets comes first when choosing the right partner for your Altersvorsorgedepot. Many self-directed investors reasonably ask what happens to their painstakingly acquired ETFs and investment funds if the provider or the custodian bank runs into financial difficulty or has to file for insolvency. Here, a well-established, legally anchored principle of German banking law applies: your securities are legally treated as so-called Sondervermögen (segregated assets)^[6]. This means the securities are fully protected in the event of the custodian bank's insolvency and are not absorbed into the general insolvency estate. They remain your untouchable property and can be transferred to a new account at any time. This protection is unlimited in amount.

A crucial difference exists, however, compared with the balance held on the associated settlement account. If you receive dividends, temporarily park savings instalments, or hold cash ready for planned purchases, these are ordinary sight deposits. These cash balances are not covered by the protection of the Sondervermögen, but are instead covered by statutory deposit protection. Within Germany and the European Union, this deposit protection reliably covers balances of up to 100,000 euros per investor and bank. When choosing a provider, you should therefore check carefully which deposit protection scheme applies to the settlement account. Further regulatory details and comparisons can be found at any time in our knowledge section.

By precisely distinguishing these two layers of protection and checking them specifically, you ensure that your long-term retirement provision remains optimally protected even in extreme market phases. As a neutral guide, we support you in finding the right path and making the legal framework easy to understand. A transparent provider is characterised by disclosing its partner banks.

Criterion 6: switching costs and account transferability

Anyone privately saving for retirement wants to stay flexible in the long term. A later change of provider, however, can involve administrative hurdles and fees, which you should check carefully even before opening an account. The legislator has set clear rules for the new Altersvorsorgedepot to protect consumers from excessive barriers. For a switch within the first five years after concluding a contract, the transfer fee is capped by law at a maximum of 150 euros^[1]. This ceiling ensures that switching to a cheaper neobroker or another provider with better terms remains economically attractive, and that no insurmountable switching barrier arises.

Particularly advantageous for savers is the rule from the sixth contract year: from this point, a change of provider must legally be carried out entirely free of charge, since the outgoing provider is no longer permitted to charge switching fees^[7]. For you as a self-directed investor, this means maximum flexibility and the ability to switch to a more modern or more cost-effective provider over the decades without financial disadvantage. If you want to calculate in detail the financial impact of switching from an old Riester contract, the subsidy calculator is available to you. In addition, the knowledge section offers neutral, source-based guides that show you step by step how to organise the transfer without tax disadvantages, completely smoothly.

The ultimate check-list: green vs. red signal

From 2027, choosing the right partner for your Altersvorsorgedepot comes down to objective, measurable criteria. Because the new state-subsidised provision model, unlike the old Riester pension, relies on a broad range of high-return asset classes such as equity ETFs, self-directed investors need to compare account providers' terms independently^[1]. Our neutral knowledge section offers you a solid foundation for this assessment, presenting all the legal framework conditions and tax advantages transparently. To make the analysis easier for you before opening an account, we have developed a systematic checklist. This directly contrasts favourable green signals with risky red warning signals, so you can assess any offer yourself right away.

So you don't have to laboriously query these criteria with every single broker or bank, our platform offers you a digital shortcut. Use our provider comparison to filter the market for exactly these customer-friendly signals and find only certified offers. In addition, our interactive subsidy calculator calculates the precise impact of account fees on your long-term state subsidy and expected final capital. With this transparent combination of criteria checking and exact calculation, you make your retirement provision decision completely independently and secure the optimal net return for your private pension.