Germany's New Altersvorsorgedepot: Private Retirement Saving via the Capital Market – Part 2

Since our first article (Part 1) the legal position has been settled: the Act to Reform Tax-Privileged Private Retirement Provision (Altersvorsorgereformgesetz) was promulgated as an amending act on 29 May 2026 in BGBl. 2026 I No. 156; the central new product rules are to apply from 1 January 2027. One change against the original draft materials is significant: the cost ceiling for the Standarddepot has been lowered to reduction in yield (Effektivkosten) of 1.0 per cent. How a publicly organised Standarddepot will actually be implemented remains politically open.

The Altersvorsorgedepot as a distinct contract type

The Altersvorsorgedepot is structured in the Retirement Savings Contracts Certification Act (AltZertG) as an Altersvorsorgedepot contract. It is a distinct type of certified retirement savings contract and, alongside the specific account requirements, must also meet certain general requirements applicable to retirement savings contracts. These include in particular requirements as to the start of the decumulation phase, the form of payment, the annual contribution ceiling, the allocation of costs, and the contracting party's right to suspend the contract or to transfer the accumulated capital to another retirement savings contract.

The central difference from a guarantee product is that the Altersvorsorgedepot carries no promise that contributions will be preserved. The provider therefore guarantees neither that a particular minimum amount of capital will be available at the start of the decumulation phase nor that the account will achieve a particular minimum performance during the accumulation phase. Performance depends instead on the permissible capital market investments. This can generate higher return potential; at the same time savers bear the risk of fluctuations in value and of losses.

Who can use an Altersvorsorgedepot?

A distinction must be drawn between concluding a retirement savings contract and qualifying for tax support. Under the AltZertG a retirement savings contract is concluded between a provider and a natural person as contracting party. A joint "family account" as a distinct statutory product type is not provided for.

Those eligible for support are in particular the persons named in section 10a of the German Income Tax Act (Einkommensteuergesetz, EStG), that is, above all persons subject to compulsory insurance in the statutory pension scheme and certain groups treated as equivalent. In addition, a spouse may be indirectly entitled to an allowance where the statutory conditions are met and a retirement savings contract exists in that spouse's name.

A "child account" in the sense of a regular Altersvorsorgedepot for Riester support is not provided for as a distinct product type in the AltZertG. Within the private retirement provision system, children are taken into account primarily through the child allowance, which is attributed to the parent entitled to the allowance. This is to be distinguished from the politically envisaged Frühstart-Rente (early-start pension): according to the published key points, it is to attach to an individual Altersvorsorgedepot for children and young people between six and 18 years of age and to provide a state contribution of EUR 10 per month. That model is, however, to be kept separate from the general Altersvorsorgedepot for savers eligible for support.

Which products can savers choose?

The reform does not merely introduce "the" Altersvorsorgedepot; it reorganises subsidised private retirement provision on the product side. As a starting point, the new product forms are supported under the same allowance logic. The retirement allowance continues to consist of a basic allowance and, where applicable, a child allowance; the calculation, however, is put on a contribution-proportional footing. For the basic allowance: each euro paid in attracts 50 cents of allowance up to an own contribution of EUR 360; for further contributions up to EUR 1,800 the rate is 25 cents per euro. The basic allowance can therefore amount to up to EUR 540 per year.

For children, section 85 EStG provides from 2027 for a child allowance of 100 per cent of the retirement contributions made in the contribution year, capped at EUR 300 per child. The full child allowance is therefore reached at an own contribution of EUR 300 per year. From contribution year 2027 onwards, both the basic and the child allowance require a minimum own contribution of EUR 120.

For product selection this means: it is not the product itself that triggers a particular allowance but the eligible contracting party through their contributions. Guarantee product, Altersvorsorgedepot and Standarddepot therefore follow the same allowance logic; they differ above all in guarantee, investment requirements, standardisation and cost structure.

The following product forms are essentially available to savers:

• Guarantee product (section 1(1) sentence 1 no. 3 AltZertG as recast): A classic security-oriented retirement savings contract in which the provider promises a minimum amount of capital at the start of the decumulation phase. That minimum capital may amount to 80 per cent or 100 per cent of the retirement contributions paid in, including allowances. The principal advantage lies in capital protection; the disadvantage may lie in lower return potential.
• Altersvorsorgedepot contract (section 1(1b) sentences 1 and 2 AltZertG as recast): The new capital-market-oriented product without a capital guarantee. Contributions, allowances and investment income are invested in statutorily admitted asset classes. The provider selects the investments in principle; the contract may, however, grant the saver a contractual option to select investments themselves from within the agreed investment universe.
• Standarddepot contract (section 1(1c) AltZertG as recast): A sub-category of the Altersvorsorgedepot. The Standarddepot is more simply structured, can be concluded electronically and is tied to a statutorily defined framework. The provider must designate two UCITS funds: a lower-risk fund in risk class 1 or 2 and a higher-risk fund in risk classes 3 to 5. If the contracting party makes no allocation decision of their own, the allocation provided for in the contract applies.
• Decumulation product (section 1(1d) AltZertG as recast): This product concerns not the build-up of assets but the decumulation phase. It serves to pay out transferred retirement assets or retirement assets paid in to reduce a housing subsidy account (Wohnförderkonto).
• Public Standarddepot contract (section 1(1e) AltZertG as recast): The provision empowers the Federal Government to implement, by statutory instrument, a Standarddepot contract offered by a public-sector body. The requirements for the Altersvorsorgedepot under subsection 1b apply, supplemented by the Standarddepot requirements under subsection 1c.

Alongside these, special contractual arrangements for housing-related use, in particular in connection with loans, remain statutorily provided for:

• Housing subsidy and loan products (section 1(1a) AltZertG as recast, section 92a EStG): Section 1(1a) AltZertG covers retirement savings contracts with a loan component, in particular contracts conferring a right to the grant of a loan or providing for repayment out of retirement assets. The loan must be used for a housing-related purpose within the meaning of section 92a EStG.

Permissible investments: capital market exposure with a positive list

Investment freedom is not unlimited. The act works with a positive list (an exhaustive statutory catalogue of permissible acquisitions) of admissible assets (see section 1(1b) sentence 2 no. 2 AltZertG as recast). Retirement contributions paid in, allowances and investment income may in particular be used to acquire units in UCITS, certain open-ended retail AIFs, European long-term investment funds and certain debt securities issued by public-sector issuers. For fund investments it is additionally decisive that they fall within the scope of the PRIIPs Regulation and are classified in the key information document as risk class 5 at most. In detail:

• Units in undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (UCITS) within the meaning of section 1(2) of the German Investment Code (KAGB) that may be distributed in Germany and that
  • fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 and
  • are classified in the key information document under Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 as risk class 5 at most.
• Units in open-ended retail AIFs under sections 218 and 219 KAGB that
  • fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 and
  • are classified in the key information document under Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 as risk class 5 at most.
• Units in open-ended European long-term investment funds within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2015/760 that
  • fall within the scope of Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 and
  • are classified in the key information document under Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 as risk class 5 at most.
• Debt securities issued in euro by the Federation, the Länder, municipalities or other public-law corporations, or by a public-law institution where such a public-law corporation is liable for the debt security.
• Debt securities issued in euro by a member state of the euro area, the European Union, the European Atomic Energy Community, the European Investment Bank or the European Financial Stability Facility.

The Altersvorsorgedepot is thus closer to the capital market than classic Riester products but remains fenced in as a matter of product law. Not every investment available on the capital market is permissible; what matters is whether it falls within the statutory positive list.

In principle the provider selects the investments. The contract may, however, grant the saver an option to choose from among the agreed investment options themselves. In that case the product design must also accommodate the contracting party's own selection.

The Standarddepot: the statutory framework

Alongside the general Altersvorsorgedepot, the act provides for the Standarddepot contract. The Standarddepot is a particularly simply structured Altersvorsorgedepot and is intended to provide low-threshold access to subsidised capital-market-oriented retirement provision.

For the Standarddepot the provider must designate two UCITS funds: one in a low risk class and one in a higher risk class. The contracting party may decide how contributions and allowances are allocated between these two funds. If they make no decision, the default allocation provided for in the contract applies.

The Standarddepot must additionally contain a procedure for reducing risk ahead of the start of the decumulation phase. Five years before the decumulation phase, no more than 50 per cent of the accumulated capital may be invested in the higher-risk fund. Two years before the decumulation phase, and at its start, that limit falls to no more than 30 per cent. The contracting party may, however, request different percentages.

A cost ceiling also applies to the Standarddepot. Reduction in yield (Effektivkosten) may not exceed 1.0 per cent. Providers must determine the reduction in yield; the figures stated in the individual product information sheet are decisive. In addition, confirmation must be obtained at least every three years from an auditor, a sworn accountant or an actuary (Aktuar DAV) (see section 2a(3) sentence 1 AltZertG as recast).

Public Standarddepot contract

Newly added is the possibility of a Standarddepot contract offered by a public-sector body. The act empowers the Federal Government to implement such a publicly offered Standarddepot by statutory instrument. In principle the requirements for the Altersvorsorgedepot apply to this product, supplemented by the requirements for the Standarddepot.

Requirements for the decumulation phase

The retirement provision purpose remains defining for the Altersvorsorgedepot as well. Benefits may as a rule not begin before the saver reaches the age of 65 and may not be paid for the first time after the age of 70. The capital available at the start of the decumulation phase must be used for monthly benefits. Permissible in particular are lifelong benefits or a drawdown plan ending no earlier than when the saver reaches the age of 85.

Up to 30 per cent of the capital available at the start of the decumulation phase may be paid out separately from the monthly benefits. In addition, up to twelve monthly benefits may be combined. The decumulation phase is therefore more flexible than with classic Riester products, without abandoning the retirement provision character entirely.

For the Altersvorsorgedepot there is a further element of flexibility: the contracting party must be able to choose freely, within a window of at least five years, when the decumulation phase begins. They must notify the provider of the desired start at least three months in advance.

Switching, suspension and the allocation of costs

A certified retirement savings contract must grant the contracting party the right to suspend the contract until the start of the decumulation phase. Switching must also be possible: the contracting party may terminate the contract on three months' notice with effect from the end of a calendar quarter or from the start of the decumulation phase in order to transfer the accumulated capital to another retirement savings contract.

Where a provider is changed, costs are capped by statute. If the transfer to another provider's retirement savings contract takes place within five years of the contract being concluded, the previous provider may charge no more than EUR 150. After that period, in the event of a change in costs, or on a transfer within the same provider, the transfer must be granted free of charge. The new provider may not take the transferred subsidised capital into account when calculating acquisition and distribution costs; only a one-off administrative flat fee of no more than EUR 150 is permissible.

Information duties as a product requirement

The product requirements do not stop at investment rules and the mechanics of payment. Providers must make an individual product information sheet available before the contract is concluded. It must contain, among other things, the product category, the essential contract components, the certification number, the reduction in yield, the costs in the accumulation and decumulation phases, the summary risk indicator, performance scenarios and information on the options for, and consequences of, switching contracts.

Before distribution begins for the first time, providers must additionally prepare model product information and transmit it electronically to the certification authority. That model product information is to be made publicly available. The aim is to improve product comparability and strengthen transparency towards savers.

Conclusion

The product requirements show that the Altersvorsorgedepot is, in legal terms, considerably more than a subsidised securities account. It is a certification-required retirement savings contract with a limited investment universe, statutorily structured accumulation and decumulation phases, switching rights, information duties and specific cost requirements.

What will matter in practice is how providers implement these requirements technically and organisationally. Particularly demanding are the selection and monitoring of permissible investments, mapping the risk classes, the default mechanics of the Standarddepot, the calculation of the reduction in yield, and integrating the product information into digital onboarding journeys.

In Part 3 of our series we turn to the requirements for providers, certification, distribution and supervision.