What you should know about the transfer

What Riester is, what the Altersvorsorgedepot is, what happens in 2027 and what it has to do with your contract – no jargon, with everyday pictures. For everyone who understood the letter from their provider about as well as we did: not at all.

Riester contracts signed before 1 January 2027 continue unchanged. What grandfathering means in practice – and what it does not mean.

Career starter, single, family, low earner, self-employed, near retirement – subsidy curve and rules per situation.

From 2027 there are three subsidised product categories: the freely composed Altersvorsorgedepot, the simple standard account with a cost cap, and guarantee products with 80 or 100 percent contribution guarantee. What sets them apart, what applies to all.

Continue, make contribution-free, switch to the new subsidy scheme inside the contract, or transfer into an Altersvorsorgedepot – what each option requires, costs and changes.

From autumn 2026 to the first transfer: which steps are possible when, which providers already offer pre-registration, and which dates really matter.

The previous provider may charge at most €150, and nothing for contracts of five years or more. The new provider may also charge at most €150, with no acquisition costs on the transferred capital.

All allowances and tax benefits received so far remain on transfer. In the transfer year the transferred capital is not subsidised again; ongoing contributions are.

Anyone who enters the Riester payout before 2027 stays with annuitisation and a maximum 30% lump sum. After a transfer into an Altersvorsorgedepot, drawdown plan, annuity and combinations are open.

How much state subsidy Riester and the Altersvorsorgedepot deliver for the same contribution – calculated for a single person, a family with two children and a low earner with children.

The annual statement contains all the figures that matter for the transfer. Which line means what, and which three values you need.

With Wohn-Riester the subsidy sits in the housing subsidy account and in the property, not in a balance. What is known about transfers – and what remains open.

With Riester fund and bank savings plans the balance is transferred. With Riester annuity insurance the transfer value is – which can be lower. Where the difference comes from.

The guaranteed annuity factor determines how much monthly pension a Riester insurance pays from the capital – calculated with the DAV 2004 R mortality table. The Altersvorsorgedepot's drawdown plan needs no mortality table. What both mean.

Unit-linked pension insurance, basic pension, pension contract – not everything with “pension” in its name is Riester. How to tell from the documents, and what the reform means for the other contracts.

Riester and the Altersvorsorgedepot are taxed downstream: payouts count as income in retirement. What that means for annuity, drawdown plan and lump sum – and what the transfer does not change.

Riester was mostly closed to the self-employed. The Altersvorsorgedepot is open to all taxpayers – what that means for the self-employed and freelancers, including those with an old Riester contract via a spouse.

Riester balances are protected from being counted against citizen’s benefit during saving; in payout an allowance applies. How this works for the Altersvorsorgedepot – and what remains open.

With Riester it depends on contract type and phase what survivors receive. The Altersvorsorgedepot is inheritable – with rules on the subsidy. The differences in savings and payout phase.