From 2027 you can transfer your Riester balance to your retirement savings account – all allowances remain intact, and the change is free after five contract years. So much for the theory. When the retirement savings account starts on January 1st, 2027, there are still a few things you need to do. Transferring your Riester balance into your retirement savings account is a multi-stage process. This may take some time. There are currently around 16 million Riester contracts. Even if only half are transferred, the providers have their hands full meeting customer requests.
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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The timing problem with the Riester transfer
If you don’t start until January 2027, you go through the following chain: open a depot, then submit a transfer application. Then wait until the old provider of your Riester contract responds. Realistically, it will take four to six weeks for the money to arrive in the new depot.
Two things happen in these four to six weeks: Your old Riester credit is with your previous provider and continues to cost 1.5 to 2.5 percent fees per year. And your new retirement savings account is empty – no deposit, no allowance, no compound interest.
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.
Anyone who opens a depot now will save themselves the traffic jams
So be smart and start doing things that you can tackle now: Open a securities account. Don’t worry, this will take you the least amount of time. It doesn’t even cost you any money. With neobrokers, the depot is often free – and if you want to start trading, you can do so free of charge (plus spreads).
Anyone who opens a conventional portfolio with a future provider today has already taken an important step in the multi-stage process towards the future of retirement provision. The identity verification has been completed, the account exists, the infrastructure is in place. As soon as the retirement savings account is available, you activate it as a second portfolio – and submit the transfer request for your Riester credit on the same day. No waiting, no video identification appointment, no support ticket.
What you can do in the meantime
Your normal depot is not just a waiting room for January. It works for you from day one.
Redirect savings rate. You can now redirect the 100 or 150 euros that previously flowed into the Riester contract into an ETF savings plan. In a normal depot you don’t pay any order fees with a cheap neobroker. From 2027, you can move the installment into your retirement savings account – with three times the funding and a fraction of the cost. Our guide article explains how to set up an ETF savings plan.
Riester exempt from contributions. If you have redirected the savings rate, make your Riester contract contribution-free. A phone call or an informal letter is enough. The credit remains invested and the previous allowances are retained. But no more new money flows into the cost mill.
Test ETF for your retirement portfolio. In the AVD you invest in ETFs from a legal positive list. Most broad global ETFs will be eligible. Anyone who already saves an MSCI World ETF in their normal portfolio knows the product, understands the fluctuations and no longer has to make a selection in January.
Prepare documents. For the transfer application you need: contract number of the old Riester contract, name and address of the previous provider, depot details of the new retirement provision depot. Anyone who is already collecting this in a folder will send out the informal letter on January 2nd – instead of looking for documents first.
The carryover starts in January 2027
Day 1: You log in to your existing portfolio and activate the retirement savings account. No new KYC process, no new account – one click.
Day 2: You send an informal letter to your previous Riester provider. Content: “Please transfer my Riester credit (contract number XYZ) to my retirement savings account [neuer Anbieter]depot no. ABC.” The old provider does not have to agree – the transfer is required by law.
Week 2-4: The old provider transfers the credit. All allowances remain intact. Free after five contract years, before that a maximum of 150 euros.
From week 4: Your Riester balance is in your retirement savings account. You choose an ETF, the money is invested, the new funding takes effect. From now on: 50 cents per euro instead of the fixed 175 euros, tax-free compound interest, full share quota.
If you open a new account in January, you won’t start this process until week 2 or 3 at the earliest – and won’t have your money in the new system until March. Two months of delay, two months of unnecessary Riester fees.
Why finanzen.net ZERO?
0 euro order fees (plus spreads) on ETF savings plans – named cost winner by Stiftung Warentest (issue 12/2025). Every euro less in costs means a euro more in return over decades.
Depot and retirement savings account from a single source. From 2027, with ZERO you will be able to manage both your normal ETF portfolio and your subsidized retirement portfolio – in one app, with one login. Anyone who opens a ZERO depot nowall you have to do in January is activate the AVD and submit the transfer request.
Until then, a fully-fledged ETF portfolio. Your ZERO depot is not a parking space – you can immediately start an ETF savings plan, test the savings rate and gain your first capital market experience. From 2027, the normal depot will continue to run parallel to the AVD. All details about transfer, funding and costs in the guide to retirement savings accounts.
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.
Your registration could not be saved.
Your registration was successful! We’ll get in touch with you.
🔒 No spam · Can be unsubscribed at any time · Your data is safe
Conclusion: The carryover doesn’t start in January – it starts now
If you want to transfer your Riester contract to your retirement savings account, you need a functioning account on January 1st. Not a reservation, not a declaration of intent – a real depot with identity verification completed. Anyone who does this today will send out the transfer application on January 2nd and will have their money in the new system in February. If you don’t start until January, you’ll have it in March. Two months difference – two months of unnecessary fees with the old provider.