From January 2027, the new Altersvorsorgedepot opens Germany’s pension subsidies to freelancers for the first time, and gives employees and families a better deal than Riester. What it is, who qualifies, and what it could be worth to you, with two calculators to estimate it.
From January 2027, Germany gives freelancers something they have never had before: direct state money for their own retirement savings. The new Altersvorsorgedepot replaces the Riester pension, and it also gives employees and families a much better deal than before. Most expats have never heard of it.
Let’s be honest about what it is. It’s not exciting money: you can’t touch it until you’re at least 65. But it is free money, it grows tax-free alongside your own savings, and you can start with just €10 a month.
Two calculators in this guide
Both give estimates only. Your actual figures come from your provider and the tax office.
The Altersvorsorgedepot (literally “retirement savings account”) is a state-subsidised investment account for private retirement saving. You pay in each month, the state adds a subsidy once a year, and the money is invested until you retire.
It is part of Germany’s biggest private pension reform in over 20 years. The Bundestag passed the law on 27 March 2026, the Bundesrat approved it on 8 May 2026, and accounts can be opened from 1 January 2027. From that date, no new Riester contracts can be taken out. Existing Riester contracts carry on, and can be moved into the new system if you want.
Germany’s pension system has three layers: the state pension, company pensions, and private pensions. The Altersvorsorgedepot sits in the third layer. It’s designed to top up your state pension, not replace it.
This is one of the most common questions, and the answer is: both, in different ways.
The account itself is private. It is offered by banks, brokers and insurers, your money is held in your name, and it is not part of the Deutsche Rentenversicherung (the state pension fund). Every product has to be certified before it can be sold.
Insurers can offer the Altersvorsorgedepot inside an insurance contract, including versions that guarantee 80% or 100% of your contributions. That’s where we can help: as licensed insurance brokers, we compare insurance-based options with you and set one up. Banks and brokers also offer it as a plain securities account.
The state’s role is to pay the subsidies into your account and give you the tax break. There is also a low-cost standard product, with costs capped at 1% a year, for people who want a simple, ready-made option.
Employees in Germany get a lot of retirement support without thinking about it: their employer pays half of their state pension contributions, and they could always use Riester. Most freelancers got none of that. Riester was tied to paying into the state pension system, which ruled out the majority of self-employed people.
That changes in 2027. Freelancers and the self-employed with income from a business or a freelance profession can now get the full subsidy directly, as long as they file a German tax return. You don’t need to be in the state pension system.
It’s a small slice of the support employees take for granted, but a real one. And unlike the state pension, it’s your own account: what’s in it belongs to you and can be passed on.
The Künstlersozialkasse (KSK) is for artists and writers. It puts members into the state pension and health insurance and pays the “employer half” of their contributions. The Altersvorsorgedepot is much smaller in scale, but it’s open to all freelancers, whatever they do. KSK members can use both. See how we help with KSK applications.
Your nationality doesn’t matter. What counts is your situation in Germany.
| Your situation | Can you get the subsidy? |
|---|---|
| Employee paying into the German state pension, including Blue Card holders | Yes |
| Freelancer or self-employed, filing a German tax return | Yes, new from 2027 |
| Managing director of your own GmbH | Usually, depending on your status. Worth checking |
| Minijob | Usually, unless you opted out of pension insurance |
| Married, not working, partner qualifies | Yes, through your partner, with your own account and at least €120 a year |
| Parent at home with a young child | Often, during the years credited for childcare |
| Student | Only if you also work or freelance in a way that qualifies |
If you’re not sure where you fit, that’s exactly the kind of question to bring to a consultation.
This section includes calculator 1: your yearly subsidy, child bonus and tax refund.
The state adds money in three ways.
For the first €360 you pay in each year, the state adds 50 cents per euro. For the next €1,440, it adds 25 cents per euro. So €150 a month (€1,800 a year) gets you the full €540. You need to pay in at least €120 a year (€10 a month) to get anything. The old Riester minimum of €60 a year no longer applies.
For every child you receive Kindergeld for, the state matches your contributions euro for euro, up to €300 a year per child. The same €300 a year (€25 a month) unlocks the full bonus for all your children at once. Each child’s bonus goes to one parent’s account.
Your contributions of up to €1,800, plus the subsidies, are tax-deductible as Sonderausgaben. You don’t have to choose: the tax office automatically checks whether the deduction saves you more than the subsidy, and refunds the difference through your tax return. This usually starts to matter from a taxable income of around €19,000. Riester’s old €2,100 limit is gone.
You can pay in up to €6,840 a year. Only the first €1,800 is subsidised and deductible, but the rest still grows tax-free until you retire.
Take a couple who both qualify and each save €150 a month. Each gets the full €540 base subsidy, and one of them also receives €300 for each child. That’s €1,680 a year from the state on top of their own €3,600, before any tax refund. Even at just €25 a month, one parent would get €750 a year from the state.
Try your own numbers below. The calculator is an estimate to give you a sense of the numbers. Your actual figures will depend on your income, your contract and your provider.
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This section includes calculator 2: your pot at retirement and the monthly payout.
A subsidy of a few hundred euros looks modest in a single year. Over a working life it adds up, because the state’s money is invested alongside yours and grows with it.
When you retire, you can choose a lifelong annuity, or a payout plan that runs until at least 85 and leaves anything left over to your heirs. You can also take up to 30% as a lump sum when payouts start. Payouts begin at 65 at the earliest (or earlier if your state pension starts earlier), and at 70 at the latest. For anyone born in 1964 or later, the state pension age is 67.
Payouts are taxed as income. If you’re voluntarily insured in public health insurance in retirement, health and care contributions are also due on them. Pensioners in the compulsory scheme (KVdR) and privately insured people don’t pay those on this money.
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Yes, the money is invested in funds, which can include ETFs, and there are three types of product:
Without a guarantee, the value can fall as well as rise, and no return is promised. Over long periods, fund-based saving has historically grown more than guaranteed products, which is why the reform dropped Riester’s guarantee requirement. It’s a different kind of product from the state pension, which pays for life, rises with wages and includes disability and survivors’ cover. Think of the Altersvorsorgedepot as a top-up, not a replacement.
For expats, this is the question that matters most. What counts is where you live when payouts start.
Moving abroad while you’re still saving doesn’t trigger a repayment on its own, and you can keep the account. You will usually stop receiving new subsidies, though, and taking the money out before 65 means paying the support back.
The US doesn’t recognise German subsidised private pensions as tax-free retirement accounts. You may have to report the account and its growth on your US return every year, and the funds inside are likely to count as PFICs, which have punishing US tax rules. For most Americans, this product needs careful advice first.
The Altersvorsorgedepot isn’t either-or. Many people will use it alongside other options, often putting in just enough to get the most from the subsidy.
| Option | What the state adds | Tax break while saving | When you can access it |
|---|---|---|---|
| State pension (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) | Employers pay half for employees; the KSK pays half for its members | Contributions are deductible | From 67 for most people, for life |
| Company pension (bAV) | Employer contribution of at least 15% on salary conversion | Tax and social security free up to set limits | From retirement |
| Rürup pension (Basisrente) | No subsidy | A high deduction, most useful for higher earners | From 62, as a lifelong annuity only |
| Altersvorsorgedepot | Up to €540 a year plus €300 per child | Up to €1,800 plus subsidies | From 65, as an annuity or payout plan |
| Your own ETF savings plan | Nothing | None | Any time |
No. The Altersvorsorgedepot is a private account with an insurer, bank or broker, held in your name. The state adds subsidies and gives you a tax break, but the money isn’t part of the state pension.
Yes. From 2027, freelancers and the self-employed with business or freelance income qualify directly, as long as they file a German tax return.
€120 a year, or €10 a month. Below that, there is no subsidy at all. Riester’s €60 minimum no longer applies to new contracts.
Up to €6,840 a year. The subsidy and tax deduction apply to the first €1,800.
Yes, up to €1,800 plus your subsidies. The tax office checks automatically whether the deduction or the subsidy is worth more to you.
From 65 at the earliest, or earlier if you start drawing your state pension earlier. Payouts must start by 70.
Only if you choose a guarantee product, which protects 80% or 100% of your contributions. The standard and free versions have no guarantee.
In Spain or anywhere else in the EU or EEA, you keep the full benefit. In the UK, the US or another country outside the EEA, the subsidies and tax benefits are reclaimed, but your own money and growth stay yours.
Yes. Existing Riester contracts carry on, and a Rürup pension works separately with its own tax rules.
This article gives general information on the Altersvorsorgedepot as passed in the Altersvorsorgereformgesetz 2026 and published guidance from the Federal Ministry of Finance, as of October 2026. It is not individual investment, insurance or tax advice. The calculators give illustrative estimates only: your actual subsidies, tax effects and payouts depend on your circumstances and are set by your provider, the Zentrale Zulagenstelle and your tax office. Expats In Wonderland GmbH is a licensed insurance broker under § 34d GewO (see our Impressum for registration details). We do not give tax advice and will refer you to a tax adviser where needed. Sources: Federal Ministry of Finance FAQ on the reform; Bundestag printed paper 21/4088.
