The retirement savings account is significantly better than originally planned. The first draft from December 2025 met with widespread criticism: cost caps were too high, child allowances were too scarce, and the self-employed were excluded. In the parliamentary process, the key weak points were improved – higher allowances, lower cost caps, broader access. The result is a Riester successor that significantly exceeds original expectations.
Riester contract transferred and up to 540 € funding secure.
From 2027, your Riester balance can be transferred to a retirement savings account with our broker finanzen.net ZERO – all previous allowances remain intact. Register now so you can be ready on January 1st.
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Higher allowances than planned
The basic allowance will increase from the originally planned 30 cents to 50 cents per euro deposited – immediately from the start of 2027, not just from 2029 as planned in the first draft. For the first 360 euros per year you get 50 cents per euro, and for every additional euro up to 1,800 euros you get 25 cents instead of the original 20 cents. Maximum basic allowance: 540 euros per year.
What this means in concrete terms: Anyone who pays 100 euros per month will receive 390 euros in funding on top. At Riester there was a fixed 175 euros for this – regardless of your own contribution. The new system rewards active saving much more.
When the retirement savings account starts on January 1, 2027, Hundreds of thousands of savers try to open a portfolio at the same time. The result: overloaded systems, long waiting times for identity verification, delayed activations. And every day of delay is a day without funding – because the allowances do not flow retroactively. Anyone who opens a free account at finanzen.net ZERO nowhas already completed the identity verification and can get started straight away on January 1st – no queue, no missed funding.
Child allowance: From weak point to highlight
In the first draft, the child allowance was the most frequently criticized point. For the full 300 euros per child, parents had to pay 100 euros per month. Low-income families often couldn’t afford this and received very little.
The coalition has fundamentally changed that. The full child allowance is now available from just 25 euros per month. Up to this limit, the state adds an additional euro for every child for every euro. A family with two children and a personal contribution of 25 euros per month has 1,050 euros in their deposit – with only 300 euros of personal contribution per year. Funding rate: 250 percent.
Cost cap reduced, public standard depot is coming
The cost cap for standard products falls from 1.5 to 1 percent effective costs. Consumer advocates wanted 0.5 percent, the insurance industry 1.5 – the compromise is in between. If you choose cheap ETFs yourself, you only pay 0.1 to 0.2 percent anyway.
What’s also new is that a public provider will offer its own standard depot. Transparent, cost-effective and intended as a bridge to early start pensions for children. This is likely to increase the cost pressure on private providers.
Self-employed people there for the first time
The biggest surprise of the agreement: all self-employed people will be included in the circle of those eligible for funding. In the first draft, self-employed people without compulsory pension insurance were completely excluded. The coalition’s justification: Self-employed people are particularly often affected by poverty in old age.
What that means in total
| feature | First draft | After agreement |
|---|---|---|
| Basic allowance | 30 cents/€ (from 2029: 35 cents) | 50 cents/€ immediately from 2027 |
| Full child allowance | 100 €/month | 25 €/month |
| Standard cost cap | 1.5% | 1.0% |
| Standard public depot | Not intended | Comes |
| Self-employed people | Excluded | Eligible |
The reform is better than the first draft in practically every respect. For savers who were already comfortable with the original design, the retirement savings account is now a clear upgrade.
Riester contract transferred and up to 540 € funding secure.
From 2027, your Riester balance can be transferred to a retirement savings account with our broker finanzen.net ZERO – all previous allowances remain intact. Register now so you can be ready on January 1st.
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Conclusion: Better than expected – and better than Riester
The Bundestag voted on March 26th, the start remains on January 1st, 2027. Anyone who was previously skeptical should check the new numbers again. The combination of a 50-cent allowance, a child allowance starting at 25 euros and a cost cap of 1 percent makes the retirement savings account the most attractive subsidized pension product that has ever existed in Germany.