Altersvorsorgedepot at age 62

What adds up by 65

3 years of contributions, no children, no costs. Returns are assumptions, not a forecast.

What matters most at 62

• With 3 years, the subsidy matters more than returns. Even at 5 % a year, 150 € a month would earn only about €486, while the subsidy adds €1,620. The subsidy rate of 30.0% on your contributions is fixed, returns are not.
• The child subsidy only applies while Kindergeld is paid for the child. For adult children that has often ended, so the table assumes no children.
• In the standard depot, the law allows at most half in the higher-growth fund five years before payout, and at most 30 % two years before. At 62 that applies from the start: at most 50.0% in the higher-growth fund unless you agree otherwise. The 5 % column is then on the optimistic side.
• With few years, costs weigh more. The 1.0 % cost cap only applies to the standard depot, and a free switch of provider is only guaranteed after five years. The table assumes no costs.
• If you already have a Riester contract, you do not have to cancel it. You can keep it, switch it to the new subsidy or transfer the balance.
• If you stay eligible beyond 65, for example because you work until 67, you can start payouts later and keep paying in. Until 67, 150 € a month would bring €2,700 in subsidies instead of €1,620.

What that could mean per month

From 65 you choose between a lifelong annuity and a withdrawal plan that runs to at least 85. Spreading the capital from the 3 % scenario evenly over those 240 months gives about €11 a month for a 50 € contribution and about €30 for 150 €. This is deliberately rough: before tax, with no further returns during payout and without the optional lump sum of up to 30 % at the start. Payouts are fully taxed at your personal income tax rate.

Is there a maximum age?

The law sets no fixed maximum age for opening a contract. What counts is whether you are eligible in a given year. You mainly are if you pay mandatory contributions to the statutory pension insurance, are a civil servant who consents to data sharing, or are self-employed and file a tax return. For the self-employed, eligibility ends at 67. People drawing a full old-age pension are no longer directly eligible. Payouts must start by 70 at the latest, and before 65 only if you already receive a statutory old-age pension or civil service pension.

At 62 that means 3 years of contributions until the earliest payout, and at most 8 years until the latest start at 70, as long as you stay eligible.

Keep calculating and reading

Other ages

• at 30
• at 40
• at 45
• at 50
• at 55
• at 58
• at 60
• at 62
• at 63