Who is the Altersvorsorgedepot (Germany's state-subsidized retirement investment account) right for?

The Altersvorsorgedepot is attractive for a wide range of life situations and income groups. Depending on your personal starting point, different advantages come to the fore.

Target groups

One securities account for many life situations

The Altersvorsorgedepot suits very different types of savers. Career starters have plenty of time to save and make the most of compounding. Families with children receive more subsidy thanks to the child allowances. Higher earners benefit above all from the tax advantages. For Riester switchers it is often the cheaper and more modern alternative. The self-employeduse it to build up retirement provision of their own, older employees make use of the final years before retirement, and for low earners the government subsidy is particularly powerful.

Which advantages matter most therefore depends on your situation. Below we show who benefits most from the account and which strengths apply to everyone.

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Starting early

Young people (20–35 years)

The most important factor in saving is time, and young investors have plenty of it. Over four decades, not only the money paid in goes to work, but also the returns it generates. It is over exactly these long periods that compound interest becomes really powerful.

The subsidy runs along from the very first contribution and therefore stays invested for decades as well. And market setbacks? At this stage of life they are rarely a real problem. Anyone with forty years still ahead of them can sit out a weak stock market phase without it changing the outcome much.

Advantages for young people / career starters

  • Very long investment horizon
  • Compound interest working over decades
  • Subsidy from the very first contribution
  • Fluctuations can simply be ridden out
learn more about the AVD for young people
More allowances

Families with children

For families, almost everything revolves around the child allowances. Every child increases the amount that is actually invested, without the parents having to pay more out of their own pocket. That is worth a great deal precisely when money is tight anyway, because childcare, a larger apartment and everyday life already cost enough.

For many families the Altersvorsorgedepot is therefore one of the few realistic ways to build up anything at all alongside the state pension. If you need more flexibility later on, you can combine it with a freely available ETF account.

Advantages for families with children

  • Additional child allowances increase how much you save
  • More capital invested without a higher own contribution
  • Retirement provision stays feasible despite high ongoing expenses
  • Can be combined with a non-subsidized ETF account
learn more about the AVD for families
For every target group

Benefits that everyone enjoys

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Government subsidy for everyone

Every saver receives the basic allowance of up to €540 per year – regardless of age, income or life situation. Families additionally benefit from the child allowance.

Tax advantages during the accumulation phase

Income and price gains grow tax-free inside the account. Tax is only due on the payouts in retirement – usually at a lower personal tax rate (deferred taxation).

Real return opportunities on the capital markets

Instead of a guarantee-oriented insurance policy, you invest directly in ETFs and funds. Over long terms this opens up considerably higher growth opportunities for your retirement assets.

Capped costs & full transparency

With the statutory default standard product, the reduction in yield (RIY) is capped at a maximum of 1% per year. A single figure makes all offers honestly comparable
Optimizing taxes

Higher earners

People who earn well can set aside more and at the same time get the most out of the tax advantages. The need is often greatest here. For high incomes the state pension replaces only a small part of what you are used to.

In this group the Altersvorsorgedepot is usually not the only retirement provision but an addition to an occupational pension or a securities account of your own. It is also worth noting that you can keep paying in beyond the subsidized contributions.

Advantages for higher earners

  • Tax advantages that have particular impact at higher incomes
  • Additional wealth building alongside other retirement solutions
  • Option of non-subsidized additional payments
  • Long-term use of capital market returns
  • A complement to occupational pensions and an ETF account
learn more about the AVD for higher earners
Switching pays off

Riester switchers

If you already have a Riester contract, it is worth looking closely. Many of these contracts cost too much and deliver too little. Those are exactly the two weaknesses the Altersvorsorgedepot addresses. With ETFs the return opportunities are higher, the costs are usually lower, and you can see at any time what is happening with your money.

Incidentally, in a transfer that does not jeopardize the subsidy, the allowances and tax advantages already received are retained. So you give up nothing that has already been built up.

Advantages for Riester switchers

  • Higher return opportunities through ETF investments
  • Usually lower costs than with the old contract
  • Retention of subsidies received so far
  • More transparency about how the money is invested
Closing the gap

Women

On average, women receive considerably less pension than men. Part-time work, family breaks and lower pay leave a noticeable gap over the years. This is exactly where the Altersvorsorgedepot comes in, because it subsidizes small contributions heavily and stays flexible enough for fluctuating incomes.

The child allowances have a particular effect. Every child brings additional subsidy without more being needed out of your own pocket, and during a family break contributions can be paused and then easily increased again when you return to work.

  • High subsidy rate even on small contributions
  • Child allowances that shrink the pension gap
  • Flexible for part-time work, breaks and returning to work
learn more about the AVD for women
Provision of your own

The self-employed

The self-employed are under particular pressure when it comes to retirement provision. Often they have little or no entitlement from the statutory pension insurance. Whatever they put aside for old age, they have to arrange themselves.

This is where the Altersvorsorgedepot can become a pillar of its own. It is capital market oriented, government subsidized and can be adjusted to fluctuating income. For many it complements the provision that is already there, such as property or value in their own business.

  • Building up independent retirement provision
  • High flexibility in planning your assets
  • Capital market oriented wealth building
  • Long-term protection of assets
learn more about the AVD for the self-employed
Altersvorsorgedepot calculator 2027

Calculate your personal benefit

With the Altersvorsorgedepot calculator you can see in just a few steps how government subsidy, contributions and capital market returns affect your final balance over the years.

Depot mit 67 –
Fördersumme –

Ihre Angaben

Aktuelles Alter iIhr heutiges Alter. Daraus ergibt sich die Ansparphase bis zum Renteneintritt mit 67 Jahren. 35 Jahre
1866
Monatlicher Sparbetrag iIhr eigener monatlicher Beitrag. Bis 150 €/Monat erhalten Sie die volle Grundzulage von 540 €/Jahr. Höhere Beiträge sind möglich, werden aber nicht zusätzlich gefördert. 200 €
0 €500 €
Kinder mit Kindergeldanspruch iPro Kind unter 25 mit Kindergeldanspruch gibt es 300 €/Jahr Kinderzulage – voll ab 25 €/Monat Eigenbeitrag. Tragen Sie das aktuelle Alter jedes Kindes ein; der Anspruch endet automatisch mit dem 25. Geburtstag.
0
Erweiterte Berechnung Mit Einkommen, Rendite, Kosten, Inflation, Riester-Übertrag, ETF-Vergleich

Unverbindliche Modellrechnung, keine Anlageberatung, keine Garantie künftiger Wertentwicklung. Vergangene Wertentwicklungen sind kein verlässlicher Indikator für künftige Wertentwicklungen.

Final stretch to retirement

Older employees over 50

Even past fifty it is worth looking at the Altersvorsorgedepot. The investment horizon is shorter, but there are usually still ten to fifteen years until retirement. That is enough for subsidy and returns to make a noticeable difference.

Strategy matters more now than it does for younger savers. The closer retirement comes, the more sensible it is to reduce risk step by step and to plan the later payouts early on.

Advantages for older employees over 50

  • The subsidy works even over fewer years
  • A complement to the state pension
  • Decumulation phase can be planned early
  • Option to adjust risk step by step
learn more about the AVD for older employees
High subsidy leverage

low earners

For small incomes the subsidy is worth the most. A fixed allowance carries all the more weight the smaller your own contribution is. A few euros of contribution thus become leverage that higher earners do not have in this form. Add child allowances and the ratio shifts even further in the saver’s favor.

This makes retirement provision possible even on a tight budget. Even small, regular amounts in the Altersvorsorgedepot grow into a decent reserve over the years.

Advantages for low earners

  • Above-average subsidy leverage
  • Wealth building possible even with small contributions
  • Additional support through child allowances
  • Long-term build-up of financial reserves
  • Better retirement provision despite limited means
learn more about the AVD for low earners
Residence is what counts

Foreign nationals and cross-border commuters

You do not need a German passport for the subsidy. All that matters is residence and tax liability in Germany, not nationality, which is why the Altersvorsorgedepot is expressly open to EU citizens living and working here as well.

One thing above all is new. Cross-border commuters who live in Germany but work in a neighboring country often fell through the cracks with the Riester pension and are finally taken into account now. With the Altersvorsorgedepot, residence is what counts.

  • No German passport needed, also for EU citizens
  • Open to cross-border commuters for the first time
  • The same allowances as for everyone else
learn more about the AVD for foreign nationals and cross-border commuters
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Yes, especially then. Because the allowances are paid regardless of income, their share of the total contribution is particularly high with smaller amounts. The full basic allowance of up to €540 per year is available from an own contribution of just €150 per month.

No. Even in the last 10 to 15 years before retirement, government subsidy and capital market returns still make a noticeable difference. What matters is a strategy that fits the shorter investment horizon, for example a somewhat more cautious regular savings plan.

Yes. From 2027 the self-employed are fully eligible for the subsidy for the first time, regardless of compulsory pension insurance. For many, the account is a more flexible alternative to the Rürup pension; the differences are shown in the comparison Altersvorsorgedepot vs. Rürup pension.