Riester pension goes investment products: What the retirement savings depot really means for banks and insurance companies

A reform that doesn't wait

The Riester pension – outdated for years in technical terms, overloaded with bureaucracy, and hardly communicable in practical consultations – is experiencing a structural realignment. With the pension reform law passed by the federal government in late 2025 in the cabinet and to be processed by the Bundestag and Bundesrat in 2026, Germany is entering a new phase of state-subsidized retirement provision.

The date that decision-makers should write in their calendars is: 1 January 2027. From this day, financial institutions can offer the new retirement provision depot (AVD) – and from this day, no contracts can be concluded under the old Riester model. This is no longer a topic for discussion.

The crucial question is therefore not whether your institution will include the retirement provision depot in its product portfolio. The question is: Who will be technologically ready on 1 January 2027?

"The Riester pension 2.0 is not a regulatory update. It is the biggest market opening in the German retirement provision segment in two decades – with a fixed start date that is non-negotiable."

— Paul Kammerer, CCO, fincite

What is changing: An overview of the retirement provision depot

The classic Riester product was structurally constrained: funds, insurance policies, and bank savings plans with rigid guarantee obligations that systematically limited returns. The new retirement provision depot breaks with this logic:

• Investment products are eligible for funding: ETFs, stocks, active funds – directly fundable depot

• The rigid 100%-contribution guarantee is eliminated: Three variants available (100%, 80%, no guarantee)

• State funding remains: Basic allowance of up to 480 euros/year proportional to the contribution

• Fully digital contracts are envisaged: Self-service without advisor covered by regulation

• Simplified tax logic and affordability check: More transparency for customers

• Standard product requirement: Every provider must offer a simple AVD with a maximum of 1.5% costs

For financial institutions, this means: A product that can finally compete with classic depot solutions – with state funding as a distinguishing feature.

The market potential

"For retail banks, the retirement provision depot is a strategic opportunity to attract young target groups to the topic of asset building – with state support and a product that finally works."

— Dennis Ritter, Topic Expert Retirement Provision, fincite

Why timing is crucial: 323 days until market launch

The pension reform law has been approved in the cabinet. Parliamentary consultations are taking place in Q1 2026. The Bundesrat will follow. The law is coming – with the start date: 1 January 2027.

A fully digital, regulatorily compliant platform for the retirement provision depot realistically requires 6–9 months of implementation time. This means: Anyone who has not yet made a platform decision today – in February 2026 – is already on the edge. Those who wait until summer 2026 will go live in 2028.

Technology as a critical bottleneck factor

The biggest challenge for financial institutions is not the product strategy – but the technological implementation. The requirements for a fully digital retirement provision depot are complex:

• End-to-end onboarding with WpHG/MiFID II-compliant profiling and suitability assessments

• Standard product requirement: Each provider must provide an AVD with a maximum of 1.5% total costs

• KYC integration, eID and digital signature for completely paperless contracts

• Depot bank connection, ZfA reporting for allowances and tax reporting

• Mobile-first surfaces and self-service functions for new target groups

• Compliance documentation: PIB, regulatory reports, annual account statements

Implementing each of these requirements separately is a project in itself. All combined in a system that is regulatorily watertight and customer-friendly requires a well-thought-out architecture – or a ready-made platform.

The fincite approach: Production-ready, modular, banker-tested

fincite • cios is the investment advisory suite that has been specifically developed for this application case. It covers the entire customer journey – from the first retirement provision analysis through compliant onboarding to continuous portfolio reporting.

• Regulation out-of-the-box: MiFID II, WpHG, GDPR – configured, not built from scratch

• 81% of typical AVD requirements already covered

• Fast time-to-market: First end-to-end journeys in months – not years

• Open architecture: API-first, compatible with existing core banking systems

• SaaS without seven-figure setup investments

• Awarded multiple times: Fintech Germany Award 2025, WealthTech100 2025, ESGFintech100 2025

"With fincite • cios, we can automatically manage complex portfolios. This allows our advisors to focus on what matters most: customer interaction."

— Ronald Tuinenga, Product Owner Digital Investments, leading European retail bank

Conclusion: The date is set – the opportunities are open

Market launch is no longer abstract. The pension reform law has a concrete date: 1 January 2027. Whoever has a production-ready AVD solution on the market by then secures the first-mover advantage in a segment with 16 million potential customers.

Whoever is still in the implementation phase on 2 January 2027 will be in a catch-up competition against institutions that have already built up existing customers.

Implementation takes time. Time is running out.

Find out in 30 minutes how fincite makes your institution go-live capable by 1 January 2027.