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

A reform that won't wait

The Riester pension – for years technically outdated, bureaucratically overloaded and barely communicable in advice practice – is undergoing a structural realignment. With the Pension Reform Act (Altersvorsorgereformgesetz), which the Federal Government adopted in cabinet at the end of 2025 and which will pass through the Bundestag and Bundesrat in 2026, Germany is entering a new phase of state-subsidised pension provision.

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

The decisive question is therefore not whether your institution will include the pension deposit 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 pension segment in two decades – with a fixed start date that is not negotiable."

— Paul Kammerer, CCO, fincite

What is changing: The pension deposit at a glance

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

• Investment products are eligible for subsidies: ETFs, equities, active funds – directly investable custody account

• The rigid 100% contribution guarantee is abolished: Three options can be selected (100%, 80%, no guarantee)

• State subsidies remain: Basic allowance up to 480 Euros/year proportional to the contribution

• Fully digital completions intended: Self-service without an advisor covered by regulatory framework

• Simplified tax logic and cheaper-test: More transparency for customers

• Standard product obligation: Every provider must offer a simple AVD with max. 1.5% costs

For financial institutions this means: A product that can finally compete with classic custody account solutions – with a state subsidy framework as a differentiating feature.

The market potential

"For retail banks, the pension deposit is a strategic opportunity to win young target groups for the topic of wealth accumulation – with state tailwind and a product that finally works."

— Dennis Ritter, Pension Topic Expert, fincite

Why timing is crucial: 323 days until market launch

The Pension Reform Act has been approved in cabinet. The parliamentary consultation is running in Q1 2026. The Bundesrat will follow. The law is coming – with the start: 1 January 2027.

A fully digital, regulatorily compliant platform for the pension deposit realistically requires 6–9 months of implementation time. This means: Anyone who has not made a platform decision today – in February 2026 – is already running close to the bone. Anyone who waits until summer 2026 will not go live until 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 pension deposit are complex:

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

• Standard product obligation: Every provider must provide an AVD with max. 1.5% total costs

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

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

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

• Compliance documentation: PIB, regulatory reports, annual statements

Implementing each of these requirements individually is a project in itself. All of them together in a system that is regulatorily watertight and customer-friendly requires a well-thought-out architecture – or an already finished platform.

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

fincite • cios is the Investment Advisory Suite developed specifically for this use case. It covers the entire customer journey – from the initial pension analysis through compliant onboarding to ongoing portfolio reporting.

• Regulations out-of-the-box: MiFID II, WpHG, GDPR – configured, not to be built first

• 81% of typical AVD requirements already covered

• Fast Time-to-Market: Initial end-to-end journeys in months – not years

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

• SaaS without seven-figure setup investments

• Multiple award winner: Fintech Germany Award 2025, WealthTech100 2025, ESGFintech100 2025

"With fincite • cios we can automatically manage complex portfolios. This allows our advisors to focus on the most essential thing: customer interaction."

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

Conclusion: The date is set – the options are open

The market launch is no longer abstract. The Pension Reform Act has a concrete date: 1 January 2027. Anyone who has a production-ready AVD solution in the market by then secures the first-mover advantage in a segment with 16 million potential customers.

Anyone who is still in the implementation phase on 2 January 2027 begins the catch-up competition against institutions that have already built up active customers.

The implementation takes time. The clock is ticking.

Learn in 30 minutes how fincite makes your institution ready to go live by 1 January 2027.