Altersvorsorgedepot (AVD): What Banks Need to Be Ready

• The Altersvorsorgedepot launches on January 1, 2027, representing a potential €26B to €56B opportunity with over 40 million German investors looking to take control of their savings.
• Customer demand is predicted to arrive in waves, starting with early digital adopters followed by 16–20 million Riester contract holders eligible to transfer balances.
• Banks face key operational hurdles including multi-day onboarding friction, real-time valuation requirements from BaFin, and the limitations of legacy systems.
• An API-first modern core banking platform like Tuum allows financial institutions to launch custom products quickly, ensure regulatory compliance, and scale to meet customer demand.

The Altersvorsorgedepot market opens January 1, but the real battle for market share begins after that.

The launch of Altersvorsorgedepot on January 1, 2027 represents a critical modernization challenge for bank executives and CIOs across Germany. With over 40 million potential investors set to transition to self-directed retirement products, financial institutions must urgently prepare their core banking infrastructure for high-volume execution across ETFs, equities, and managed funds to capture long-term market share.

Ratings agency S&P estimates that the change will see between €26 billion to €56 billion poured into Germany’s private pensions sector in the coming years. It’s a huge prize that’s there to be won.

Developed in response to the accepted failure of Riester, the launch of Altersvorsorgedepot on January 1, 2027 is the starting gun for a market shift that will unfold across multiple phases. McKinsey predicts that demand will arrive in waves, led by tech-savvy early adopters and followed by Riester savers transferring billions of euros in balances as the market becomes more established and products more differentiated.

Between 2027-2030, up to 20 million existing Riester pension contracts will become eligible for transfer to Altersvorsorgedepot, presenting an incredible opportunity for providers with the right products.

Banks building new platforms, or considering developing new products, still have time to build the right infrastructure to capture surges in demand and emerging opportunities. Speed to market is vital, but so is having a product that’s right – and that starts by building on the right core.

What the Altersvorsorgedepot changes mean for you

The Altersvorsorgereformgesetz introduces a fundamental structural shift in German private pensions. The law passed through regulatory hurdles quickly, being passed by the Bundestag March 27, 2026, and receiving Bundesrat approval on May 8, 2026.

Removing Riester’s guarantee that 100% of the customer’s nominal paid-in contributions and state subsidies would be available at retirement creates new opportunities and new risks.

At a glance: Altersvorsorgedepot v Riester 

From January 1, 2027, certified Altersvorsorgedepot accounts open and legacy Riester contracts will be permanently closed to new enrollment. 

Here’s how they compare:

Feature	Altersvorsorgedepot (2027 onwards)	Riester-Rente (old system)
Availability	Available for new contracts from January 1, 2027	No new contracts under the old system from January 1, 2027
Investment options	Investments in funds, ETFs, and other eligible assets	Primarily insurance-based products, bank savings plans, and fund-based products
Capital guarantees	No guarantee required for the investment-based depot; guaranteed products are also available separately	Generally requires a guarantee of contributions and state subsidies at the start of the payout phase
Investment risk	Investors bear market risk and can benefit from higher potential returns	More limited investment flexibility due to capital guarantee requirements
Government basic allowance	Up to €540 per year, depending on contributions	Up to €175 per year
Child allowance	Up to €300 per child per year	€185 or €300 per child per year, depending on birth date
Tax benefits	Tax-deductible contributions within the applicable limits, with taxation during retirement	Tax-deductible contributions and government allowances, with taxation during retirement
Contribution flexibility	More flexible contribution structure	Subject to minimum contribution requirements to receive the full allowance
Costs	Designed to encourage lower-cost products; a standard product is subject to cost restrictions	Costs vary considerably depending on the provider and contract
Retirement withdrawals	More flexible payout options, including investment-based withdrawal plans	Traditionally focused on lifelong annuity payments
Existing contracts	New product category	Existing contracts remain valid and can continue under the old rules
Switching options	Existing Riester savers can switch to the new system	Existing savers can retain their current contract or switch to the new funding system

The opportunities for customers presented by Altersvorsorgedepot are clear but the shift to personal pension investment represents a strategic challenge for banks across four core areas:

1. Demand arriving in waves: Customer migration to Altersvorsorgedepot will unfold in distinct phases rather than all at once. Early adopters and Riester switchers will lead the initial waves, with demand expanding as the market matures and products become more differentiated. Because each new wave effectively restarts the competition for market dominance, banks must ensure core systems can handle demand surges without downtime or cost spikes.
2. Onboarding friction and drop-off: First-time investors consistently lock into the provider that onboards and engages them first. Traditional multi-day onboarding processes with manual verification and delayed processing could create severe bottlenecks, driving high drop-off rates and causing institutions to lose valuable clients permanently. Wealth platform modernization is built on optimizing the customer experience.
3. Real-time valuation reporting: BaFin recommends that institutions provide clients with continuous, accurate portfolio valuations. Core banking platforms reliant on overnight reconciliation must be modernized to deliver real-time asset updates customers need to manage their investments.
4. Speed to market for new products: Removing Riester’s 100% capital guarantee allows providers to offer flexible equity, ETF, and active fund structures. Altersvorsorgedepot will reward banks that can onboard investors in minutes and launch products fast. Operating on legacy architectures with multi-month build cycles prevents banks from launching new products quickly or adapting to changing client expectations.

Finding a way through the operational and technical hurdles will be an ongoing process as customer reaction to the launch of Altersvorsorgedepot can’t be predicted with absolute clarity. In plotting a course, leaders must anticipate how customer adoption will unfold over time.

Demand won’t arrive all at once, but in waves

Industry insiders believe demand won’t land on day one, but will instead emerge over time. FlatexDegiro CEO Oliver Behrens believes that we’ll see 20 million new accounts open in two years. 

The big players are already lined up. Deutsche Bank, Deka, Scalable Capital, Fidelity, and Trade Republic all plan to launch new products on day one. They’re attempting to capture an estimated 2.9 million early adopters. It’s a large prize, but reflects less than 10% of the total potential market.

McKinsey predicts the opening surge on January 1 will be led by tech-savvy early adopters and high-income earners who want greater returns on their investments. These digitally-native investors are searching for tax-optimized investment vehicles and will search for platforms with smooth mobile onboarding and instant execution. 

The second – and largest – wave will be driven by Riester contract holders transferring legacy balances into higher-yielding stock and ETF portfolios. Between 16 and 20 million savers will be able to switch, creating a huge potential audience.

The third wave will include self-employed individuals and cautious investors who remain loyal to mainstream banks and providers. This group will shift at their own pace, providing a steady wave of new customers.

We know that first-time investors consistently lock into the provider that delivers the fastest, most frictionless experience. The challenge for banks is to create such an experience as quickly as possible to capture this demand.

Each new wave presents a new opportunity for banks and financial institutions. While each group has differing drivers, they’re all searching for a smooth and rapid onboarding process. Traditional multi-day onboarding processes with manual verification processes can create severe bottlenecks, driving high drop-off rates. 

Building a modern banking core designed for Altersvorsorgedepot

Altersvorsorgedepot reflects a behavioral and technological shift, with individuals increasingly using online apps and tools to monitor, manage, and control their investments. In a world of personalized digital services, onboarding simplicity and speed are key elements of wealth platform modernization and the fundamentals of an advanced user experience – and there are areas where established banks can be exposed.

Traditional core systems weren’t created for digital investment products like Altersvorsorgedepot. Onboarding represents the single greatest point of failure, with multi-day application workflows and manual checks impacting success rates. Modern investors are likely to abandon lengthy signup processes in favor of frictionless digital platforms, and you could lose them forever.

A core part of Altersvorsorgedepot is its real-time investment reporting. Older core banking architectures reconcile transactions and update balances only once per day, but this isn’t enough.

Regulatory authorities including BaFin recommends institutions provide savers with accurate, real-time valuation reports on demand. Consumers, too, expect continuous portfolio tracking, enabling them to control their investments.

Modernizing core banking for wealth managers involves providing a consistent basis for back-office operations, including client data, ledgers, and transactions. This central core is at the heart of wealth platform modernization, providing clarity for both the investor and manager.

Financial institutions need to understand if their core is fit for purpose, and quickly. Digital-first fintechs using modern, modular core banking systems are able to move with greater speed and agility, rapidly responding to customer demands by building better digital experiences.

Is your technology stack ready for AVD?

Some banks can experience lengthy timeframes for adding and integrating new functionality and services. Custom code changes and multi-month release cycles can all act as brakes on development, at a time when agility is essential.

Customers searching for an Altersvorsorgedepot provider want control. Functions like instant onboarding and real-time data processing are non-negotiable. Because Altersvorsorgedepot demand will arrive in unpredictable surges, driven by national marketing campaigns, tax deadline cutoffs, and key regulatory milestones, infrastructure resilience is non-negotiable. Leaders need to have confidence their core can deal with fluctuating demand and has the capacity to scale without bottlenecks or breakdowns.

Banks need confidence that the core can be adjusted to react to evolving BaFin compliance requirements without disrupting transaction processing or impacting customer workflows.

Core modernization is key to delivering the essential requirements: rapid customer onboarding, complete regulatory compliance, product configuration in hours, and no ceiling on volume.

Build your Altersvorsorgedepot offer on an API-first modern core banking solution

Legacy banking monoliths are notoriously rigid. Necessary tasks like adding new asset classes, modifying fee structures, or integrating tax-reporting modules can often require custom code changes and lengthy multi-month release cycles. In a new world, where speed and agility are essential, Tuum’s API-first core banking solution is the answer. 

Tuum decouples core accounting functions from product design, enabling financial institutions to configure and launch custom Altersvorsorgedepot products in hours rather than months.

The system is inherently scalable, enabling banks to absorb massive transaction spikes without performance degradation or system downtime. This is vital when dealing with the fluctuations in demand forecast for the Altersvorsorgedepot roll-out. The system can support high-volume onboarding and real-time portfolio processing without creating bottlenecks and barriers that can impact the user experience.

Tuum’s core banking products are engineered for regulatory compliance, evolving around BaFin compliance requirements without disrupting core transaction processing or customer transactions. Through APIs, the system can interface with existing financial systems, automated KYC/AML verification tools, and regulatory reporting channels.

Transforming core banking infrastructure for Quirin Privatbank

Quirin Privatbank is using Tuum’s core banking infrastructure to enable rapid scaling, flexible investment products, and frictionless digital onboarding. The core modernization project should be completed in just four months, a fraction of the industry average for core transformations. 

Quirin is implementing Tuum’s API-based modules, using them to transform the user experience in advance of the launch of Altersvorsorgedepot in Q1 2027. 

Quirin aims to reduce customer account opening times down to just two minutes. The bank will gain the ability to configure and deploy new financial products in under an hour, enabling rapid responses to market changes like Altersvorsorgedepot.  

Building a solution on Tuum’s high-performance API core, Quirin established the agile operational baseline necessary to scale effortlessly during upcoming Altersvorsorgedepot adoption waves.

How fast can you go live?

Altersvorsorgedepot presents an incredible opportunity for finance providers of all sizes, from large incumbents to challengers that want to capture an emerging market of millions of investors. To deliver the customer experience and comply with all regulations, banks need an agile, API-based core banking solution that’s made for Altersvorsorgedepot.

Tuum’s cloud-native, API-first core banking platform can help your bank automate onboarding, ensure real-time regulatory compliance, and launch next-generation pension products faster than ever before.

Find out how quickly you can go live by speaking with a Tuum engineer.