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Germany Altersvorsorgedepot Calculator

From 2027, Germany's new state-subsidised retirement savings account (Altersvorsorgedepot) is set to broaden the country's subsidised private pension. Based on what you enter, this calculator estimates the basic allowance (Grundzulage), child allowance (Kinderzulage) and starter bonus (Berufseinsteigerbonus) that could apply to your yearly contribution, and shows how a balance built from contributions, allowances and a return you choose could develop over the years. It explains the German rules and runs a scenario; it does not decide whether you personally qualify.

This calculator explains Germany’s statutory allowances from 2027 and runs a scenario with your assumptions. It does not decide whether you personally qualify. All percentage defaults are example assumptions. The calculation runs in your browser; nothing is stored.

Your key figures

The basic allowance counts at most €1,800 a year. In total you can pay in up to €6,840 per contract and year.

Example assumption: enter your own amount.

The number of contribution years the scenario covers (1 to 50).

Example assumption — enter your own period.

Eligibility for the allowance

State whether you are directly eligible. If you do not know, the calculator works without allowances and shows what would be possible with them.

Eligible only indirectly through a spouse? The calculator does not cover that case.

Children with child allowance

Only enter years in which child benefit is set for you and the allowance is assigned to you. The calculator does not check this.

0
More assumptions (optional)Start year, return, cost, inflation and booking

The first contribution year. From 2028 the assignment of the child allowance between parents changes.

Assumed annual growth before costs. Example assumption: enter your own scenario.

A simplified annual cost drag, not the statutory effective costs. Example assumption.

How much value money loses each year. The calculator uses it to express the balance in today's money. Example assumption.

Contribution timing
Apply the starter bonus

Only if you are under 25 at the start of the first contribution year, directly eligible, and have never received the bonus.

How this calculator works

The basis is the new §§ 84–86 of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) in the Altersvorsorgereformgesetz, in force from 1 January 2027. The basic allowance (Grundzulage) is 50% of your yearly contribution up to €360 plus 25% of the part from €360.01 to €1,800 — at most €540. For each child for whom child benefit (Kindergeld) is set and the allowance is assigned to you, 100% of the yearly contribution up to €300 is added. If you have not yet completed your 25th year of life at the start of a contribution year, a one-off €200 starter bonus can apply. When you apply it, the calculator credits the bonus in the first year it models; so confirm that you are under 25 at the start of that year. All allowances require that you pay at least €120 of your own money in the year; contributions are subsidised up to €1,800 a year, and you may pay up to €6,840 per contract.

Because the statute does not prescribe a rounding method for the 25% band, this calculator rounds the basic allowance to whole cents (half a cent and above rounds up) — a convention of this calculator, not an official rule.

For the scenario the calculator compounds the balance monthly with the factor q = ((1 + return) × (1 − cost))^(1/12). Return and cost are your assumptions (0% by default); the cost input is a simplified drag and not the statutory effective costs (Effektivkosten). Depending on your setting the monthly contribution is paid at the start or the end of the month; the yearly allowance is credited at the end of the year (a conservative accounting convention — the actual payment of the allowance comes later). Purchasing power in today's money is the balance divided by (1 + inflation) to the power of the year.

Years after 2027 are carried forward with unchanged rules; future legislative changes are possible. Any future development is an assumption, not a forecast. This calculator never computes income tax, the special-expenses deduction (Sonderausgabenabzug), the Günstigerprüfung or payout taxation; these are German-scheme matters and are mentioned only, never calculated.

Formula and variables

Yearly contribution=12 × monthly contribution
Subsidised contribution=min(yearly contribution; €1,800)
Basic allowance=0.5 × min(yearly contribution; €360) + 0.25 × min(max(yearly contribution − €360; 0); €1,440), at most €540
Child allowance=number of children × min(yearly contribution; €300)
Starter bonus=€200 (one-off, in the first contribution year)
Allowances apply only if the yearly contribution ≥ €120
Monthly factor q=((1 + return) × (1 − cost))^(1/12)
Start of month: balance=(balance + monthly contribution) × q
End of month: balance=balance × q + monthly contribution
End of year: balance=balance + yearly allowance
Purchasing power today=balance ÷ (1 + inflation)^year
monthly contribution
your own contribution per month (your input, at most €570)
yearly contribution
12 × monthly contribution; subsidised up to €1,800, payable up to €6,840 per contract
basic allowance
50% up to €360 plus 25% from €360.01 to €1,800, at most €540
child allowance
per assigned child, 100% of the yearly contribution up to €300
starter bonus
one-off €200 if you are under 25 at the start of a contribution year; the calculator credits it in the first modelled year (your statement)
return
assumed annual growth before costs (your assumption, default 0%)
cost
simplified annual cost drag (your assumption, not the statutory effective costs)
inflation
assumed annual loss of value for purchasing power (your assumption, default 0%)
q
monthly factor applied to the balance each month

Worked examples

Example 1: €150 a month, one year, eligible

Example inputs
Monthly contribution€150.00
Eligibilitydirectly eligible
Duration1 year
Return / cost / inflation0%
Example results
Own contributions€1,800.00
Basic allowance€540.00
Allowances€540.00
Balance at the end€2,340.00

At €150.00 a month you pay €1,800.00 a year. The basic allowance is 50% of the first €360.00 = €180.00 plus 25% of the next €1,440.00 = €360.00, which is €540.00 together. With return, cost and inflation at 0%, after one year the balance is €1,800.00 + €540.00 = €2,340.00. All figures are example assumptions; the allowances apply only based on what you entered.

Example 2: €125 a month with one child and the starter bonus

Example inputs
Monthly contribution€125.00
Eligibilitydirectly eligible
Children with child allowance1 (first year)
Starter bonusapplied
Duration1 year
Return / cost / inflation0%
Example results
Own contributions€1,500.00
Basic allowance€465.00
Child allowance€300.00
Starter bonus€200.00
Allowances€965.00
Balance at the end€2,465.00

At €125.00 a month you pay €1,500.00 a year. The basic allowance is €180.00 plus 25% of €1,140.00 = €285.00, which is €465.00. For one assigned child, 100% of the contribution up to €300.00 — here €300.00 — is added, plus the one-off bonus of €200.00. The allowances add up to €965.00, so the balance after one year is €1,500.00 + €965.00 = €2,465.00. All figures are example assumptions.

Assumptions

  • Return, cost and inflation default to 0% and are your assumptions — example assumptions, not a forecast.
  • The yearly allowance is credited at the end of the year; the actual date the allowances body pays the allowance differs.
  • The 2027 rules are carried forward unchanged for later years; future legislative changes in Germany are possible.
  • Allowances are only applied when you state that you are directly eligible, or deliberately switch on the illustration — the calculator does not check eligibility.

Limitations of this calculator

  • The calculator does not decide whether you personally qualify in Germany; direct eligibility follows § 10a (1) EStG and is checked by your provider and the central allowances body (Zentrale Zulagenstelle für Altersvermögen, ZfA).
  • No tax calculation: the special-expenses deduction (Sonderausgabenabzug), the Günstigerprüfung and payout-phase taxation are not computed.
  • Spouses eligible only indirectly (mittelbar), a switch from a Riester contract and automatic child-benefit or assignment decisions are not modelled.
  • The cost input is a simplified drag and not the statutory effective costs; the 1.0% cap applies only to the Standarddepot.
  • No capital protection: the Altersvorsorgedepot can lose value, and the return in the calculator can be negative. This is not a statement that a depot is better than any other form of retirement provision.

Frequently asked questions

How large is the basic allowance?

The basic allowance (Grundzulage) is 50% of your yearly contribution up to €360 plus 25% of the part from €360.01 to €1,800 — at most €540. Paying exactly €1,800 a year reaches the full basic allowance. It requires at least €120 of your own contribution in the year.

How does the child allowance work?

For each child for whom child benefit (Kindergeld) is set and the allowance is assigned to you, there is 100% of your yearly contribution up to €300 per child. Below €300 of own contribution the child allowance is correspondingly smaller — so there is no flat €300. The calculator does not check whether a child is assigned to you; you enter that yourself.

Who is directly eligible?

Who is directly entitled to the allowance is governed by § 10a (1) EStG; the Finance Ministry's FAQ names, as examples, employees and trainees in insured employment, civil servants who have consented to the transfer of the required data, and certain self-employed people. This calculator does not decide it; your provider and the central allowances body (ZfA) determine it bindingly.

What is the starter bonus (Berufseinsteigerbonus)?

If you have not yet completed your 25th year of life at the start of a contribution year, a one-off €200 bonus can be added to the basic allowance — on top of the other allowances, and only if the bonus has never been granted before. What counts is your age at the start of that contribution year. When you apply it, the calculator credits the bonus in the first year it models; so confirm that you are under 25 at the start of that year.

What changes in 2028 for the child allowance?

In 2027 the child allowance is assigned under the rule that applies until the end of 2027 for married parents (for parents of different sex, to the mother unless both apply for the father). From 2028 it goes to the parent for whom the child benefit is set, unless both parents declare otherwise to the provider. The amounts stay the same. The calculator marks years from 2028 accordingly.

Is my money safe in the Altersvorsorgedepot?

No, there is no capital protection. The Altersvorsorgedepot is a contract without guarantees and may hold funds such as ETFs; its value can rise or fall. The payout generally starts only in retirement, and early access is restricted and can be harmful to the subsidy.

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Official and independent sources on this topic. The links open each website in a new tab; no content is loaded from them into this page.

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Last reviewed: 21/10/2026 · All calculations run in your browser – inputs are not stored. ·How we check our calculators