Most Germans know that the statutory pension alone will not be enough. But only a few know the specific number – their personal pension gap. It is precisely this number that is the starting point for any sensible retirement provision. Because if you don’t know how big the problem is, you can’t plan how to solve it. With the pension gap calculator in the finanzen.net guide you can quantify your own pension gap in just a few minutes.
What is the pension gap anyway?
The pension gap is the difference between the income you need in retirement and what the state pension actually pays. Rule of thumb: In order to maintain their usual standard of living, most people need around 80 percent of their last net income in old age. On average, the statutory pension only covers around half of this – and the trend is falling.
According to current pension information, anyone who is 35 today and earns 3,500 euros gross can expect a statutory pension of around 1,500 euros gross. After deducting taxes and health insurance, around 1,200 euros remain net. For comparison: 80 percent of the current net income would be around 1,900 euros. So 700 euros are missing – every month, for decades. And that doesn’t take inflation into account.
What the pension gap calculator calculates
The calculator in the finanzen.net guide takes your individual data – age, income, expected pension, desired standard of living – and uses it to calculate three values: the expected monthly pension gap, the total amount that you have to build up until retirement, and the monthly savings amount that is necessary for this.
The result is often sobering – but that’s exactly what makes it valuable. Because an abstract fear of poverty in old age is paralyzing. A concrete number motivates you to take action.
Three examples, three gaps
| profile | Old | Gross/month | Expected pension (net) | Need (80%) | Pension gap/month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisa, career starter | 25 | €2,800 | approx. 1,050 € | approx. 1,500 € | approx. 450 € |
| Markus, family man | 40 | €4,500 | approx. 1,600 € | approx. 2,400 € | approx. 800 € |
| Sabine, part time | 50 | €2,200 | approx. 850 € | approx. 1,200 € | approx. 350 € |
Lisa has the advantage of time – at the age of 42, relatively small monthly amounts are enough to retire. Markus has to save significantly more because there are only 27 years left. Sabine has the smallest absolute gap, but also the shortest time horizon. Calculate your own pension gap now.
Why the pension gap is the first step to a retirement savings account
The pension gap answers the question that faces every investment decision: How much do I have to save? Only when this number is available can you plan whether the retirement savings account alone is sufficient or whether a normal ETF portfolio is necessary in parallel.
An example: Lisa has a pension gap of 450 euros per month. To cover this amount over a 20-year payout phase, she needs around 110,000 euros with a 4 percent return in retirement. In the retirement savings account, she can save up to the maximum funding limit of 1,800 euros per year – with allowances and compound interest, she comes to around 180,000 euros over 42 years with a 6 percent return. Your gap would be more than covered. In the detailed guide we show how the retirement savings account helps and what support is available.
Conclusion: No number, no plan
The pension gap is not a theoretical size – it determines whether you will have to maintain or restrict your standard of living in old age. The pension gap calculator turns a vague feeling into a concrete basis for action. Five minutes of input time can make the difference between haphazard savings and targeted wealth accumulation. To the pension gap calculator.
