Private retirement products: costs, access and the 2027 reform

“Private pension” can describe very different contracts. First identify what you would own, how long the money is tied up and which payments are guaranteed. A tax advantage or government allowance does not by itself make a product suitable.

Identify the actual product

Product	Decision to check
Ordinary private pension insurance, conventional or fund-linked	Lifetime-income option, guarantees, investment risk, costs and access before retirement
Riester contract under the existing system	Your subsidy eligibility, required contributions, allowance application and repayment consequences on exit
Basisrente, often called Rürup	Tax treatment and strict access limits; it is not a flexible savings account
Ordinary fund/ETF savings outside a pension product	Market risk, transaction/fund costs and tax treatment; no automatic pension guarantee or Riester allowance

The company pension follows an employment arrangement. Your statutory pension uses a different record and entitlement calculation. List existing provision before buying another contract.

What changes from 2027?

As checked on 23 October 2026, the Altersvorsorgereformgesetz of 26 May 2026 has been enacted and published as BGBl 2026 I number 156. Official implementation guidance schedules the new subsidised products from 1 January 2027, including an Altersvorsorgedepot without a capital guarantee and alternatives with a guarantee. That does not make an unguaranteed depot an available subsidised 2026 contract, and its investments can lose value.

Existing Riester contracts continue; there is no automatic cancellation or conversion. New contracts under the old Riester model cease from 2027 according to the federal guidance. Switching is a separate voluntary decision. Compare the actual new offer, transition rules, lost guarantees and full costs before moving an old contract. Do not use an early draft’s proposed subsidy figures as your entitlement, and ask the provider/competent allowance body to confirm which rules apply to your contract date and circumstances.

Before signing: get answers on paper

1. Set the objective: retirement income, accessible savings or both. Keep a separate plan for emergencies rather than assume pension capital is available on demand.
2. Request the policy, conditions and applicable product/key-information documents. Separate guaranteed benefit, non-guaranteed projections and any assumed market growth. Ask how inflation, investment losses and fund costs affect the illustrated result.
3. Obtain all acquisition, commission, administration, investment and payout costs, in euros and the applicable standardised measures. Ask whether increases or a new contract start acquisition costs again. Use financial advice and fees to check who pays the adviser and whether the advice includes alternatives.
4. Ask about minimum contributions, reducing/pausing payments, paid-up benefits, changing funds/provider, death benefits and early exit. Compare offers using the same contribution and retirement date. Keep both the sales illustration and binding documents; they are not the same thing.

If you need to change an existing contract

Where applicable, ask for written calculations for three options: continuing the contract, reducing or making the cover paid-up, and surrendering or transferring it. Under VVG section 169, the relevant insurance payout on termination is the surrender value; this does not promise a refund of all contributions. Section 165 allows paid-up conversion subject to its conditions, including the agreed minimum benefit. Ask which costs and insurance riders remain or end.

A Basisrente is especially restrictive: the statutory conditions limit transfer, inheritance and capital access. You cannot simply cancel it to cash out retirement capital; ask about stopping contributions and permitted survivor benefits. For subsidised contracts, obtain the exact subsidy/tax repayment consequences before cancelling. Before moving abroad, ask in writing about future subsidy eligibility, tax residence, later taxation and permitted contributions/payouts in the destination. Neither deregistration nor nationality alone answers those questions.

If you just signed or have a complaint

For the life-insurance/pension-insurance contracts governed by VVG section 152, the withdrawal period is normally 30 days, with the start and documentation conditions in section 8. Other investments have different rules; do not apply that period to every retirement product. Check the contract’s withdrawal notice promptly and retain dispatch evidence. Ask the provider in writing to correct a disputed statement or calculation; use the complaints route and obtain independent advice if unresolved or a deadline is close.