Nine life situations

Lena started working in 2026 and wonders whether to sign a Riester contract quickly before it disappears. She pays €50 a month.

The rules that count here

• New Riester contracts are only available until 31 December 2026; from 2027 the Altersvorsorgedepot is open.
• Under 25, both systems pay a one-off €200 career-starter bonus.
• Under Riester she would need to pay 4% of gross income (€1,120 minus allowance) for the full basic allowance; in the AVD the allowance is proportional from €120 per year.
• With more than 40 years to go, the difference between guarantee (Riester) and up to 100% equities (AVD) is especially large – in both directions.

In short: The curve shows subsidy only. What Lena makes of €50 over 40 years depends mainly on costs and investment – that is what the switch check is for.

Calculate with your own figures

Markus signed a Riester fund savings plan 14 years ago, pays €150 a month and has about €28,000 in it. No children.

The rules that count here

• Without children the Riester subsidy is €175 allowance plus tax deduction up to €2,100; in the AVD up to €540 allowance plus deduction up to €6,840.
• His contract is older than five years: the old provider may not charge switching costs on transfer.
• With a fund savings plan the account value is transferred as cash – no transfer-value discount as with insurance.
• With about 25 years to go, the cost difference between old contract and AVD compounds; the example calculation in the switch check shows it.

In short: At €150 a month both subsidies are close; the difference grows with the contribution because the AVD deduction reaches €6,840.

Calculate with your own figures

One income, two children under ten, a Riester pension insurance from 2016 with €100 a month. The child allowances were the reason to sign.

The rules that count here

• Two child allowances of €300 plus €175 basic allowance = €775 a year under Riester once the minimum contribution (here about €1,025) is reached.
• In the AVD the child allowance is contribution-based up to €300 per child; at €100 a month that gives €390 basic plus up to €600 child allowance.
• Child allowances end with child benefit – the curve then shifts down, in both systems.
• Insurance contract from 2016: acquisition costs are offset, the transfer value is on the statement.

In short: The dashed line is the crossover: below it Riester is ahead, above it the AVD. Offsetting of the new child allowance is not yet regulated in every detail.

Calculate with your own figures

Sandra pays the minimum into a Riester bank savings plan and receives €775 in allowances every year – more than double her own contribution.

The rules that count here

• At low income the base contribution of €60 a year is enough for the full Riester allowance, because allowances count towards the 4% minimum.
• In the AVD the subsidy is contribution-based: at €300 a year that is €150 basic plus up to €300 per child, limited by the contribution.
• Sandra's crossover is around €50 a month – only above that does the AVD subsidise more.
• In payout the basic-income-support allowance protects €100 plus 30% of the rest – in both systems.

In short: This is the case Riester was built for. The curve shows why this site does not lump low-income families together with everyone else.

Calculate with your own figures

Tobias is a freelancer without compulsory pension insurance. Riester was never open to him; he has a basic pension. From 2027 he can pay €250 a month into an Altersvorsorgedepot with subsidy.

The rules that count here

• The self-employed are directly eligible for the first time from 2027 – previously only via a spouse.
• He has no Riester contract to transfer; the Riester curve does not apply.
• At €3,000 a year: €540 basic plus €300 child allowance, plus special-expense deduction up to €6,840 with a better-of test.
• The basic pension continues alongside; it is not part of the reform.

In short: For Tobias it is not a switching question but an entry question: standard account, free account or guarantee product.

Calculate with your own figures

Brigitte pays €100 a month for seven more years. Her insurance guarantees €46,000 at retirement and an annuity factor of 28 – about €130 a month per €46,000.

The rules that count here

• Less than ten years to go: the Riester contribution guarantee applies until retirement; the Altersvorsorgedepot has none.
• Anyone entering payout before 1 January 2027 stays in the Riester logic (30% lump sum, rest annuity).
• At €100 a month the subsidy is similar in both systems – for Brigitte the payout form is the bigger question than the allowance.
• Annuity factor 28 means the sum of pensions reaches the capital only at about 96. A drawdown plan until 85 pays more per month but ends at 85.

In short: The subsidy curve is almost beside the point for Brigitte. The switch check shows her the payout block: annuity versus drawdown plan.

Switch check with your own figures

Jens signed in 2023. Acquisition costs are not yet fully offset: he has paid in €3,600, the transfer value is €2,400. His contract is younger than five years.

The rules that count here

• Contract under five years: the old provider may charge up to €150 switching costs on transfer – not any more from the fifth year.
• The transfer value is well below the contributions because acquisition costs are offset in the first years. These costs are gone regardless of the transfer.
• Making the contract contribution-free is a separate option: the balance stays in the contract, new allowances then flow into an Altersvorsorgedepot – both side by side is allowed, just not subsidised twice.
• The contribution guarantee secures at least contributions plus allowances only at retirement – not on a transfer in between.

In short: For Jens it is three figures, not a curve: €150 switching costs, a €1,200 gap between contributions and transfer value, and the year the contract turns five (2028). The option “let it rest and start an AVD” stands in the law on equal footing with the transfer.

Switch check with your own figures

The couple built with Wohn-Riester in 2014. The subsidised capital sits in the repayments; the housing subsidy account at the tax office stands at €31,000 and accrues 2 percent.

The rules that count here

• With a loan under repayment there is no balance that could be transferred – the capital is in the property.
• There is no confirmed rule for transferring a housing subsidy account into the new system; receiving providers decline according to current information.
• Allowances for repayments continue as before; the deferred taxation of the housing subsidy account from retirement remains in any case.
• An Altersvorsorgedepot can be opened in addition; the subsidy then goes to only one of the two contracts.

In short: For Karin and Peter the transfer is practically unavailable. Their contract continues – the only question is whether a second contract in the new system is added. The curve shows only what the subsidy would be there.

Switch check with your own figures

Mr Weber has one of the early contracts: the insurer guarantees 2.75 percent on the cover capital and an annuity factor of 38 – €380 a month per €100,000. Such factors no longer exist today.

The rules that count here

• The guaranteed annuity factor applies only in this contract. It is lost on transfer; a later annuity purchase runs at the calculation basis valid then (today typically 25 to 30).
• The guaranteed technical interest of 2.75 percent applies to the cover capital until retirement – the Altersvorsorgedepot has no interest guarantee.
• The contract is over 20 years old: no switching costs, acquisition costs long offset, transfer value close to the balance.
• At €160 a month the subsidy is similar in both systems; the difference lies in guarantee and annuitisation, not in the allowance.

In short: Annuity factor 38 means the sum of pensions reaches the capital at about 89 instead of 95 to 100 with today's factors. That is a property of the old contract no new product brings – and the switch check shows it in the payout block.

Switch check with your own figures