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What is the deadline to claim the Riester allowance?

In short

What is the deadline to claim the Riester allowance? You have until the end of the second calendar year after the contribution year. The allowance for 2024 must reach your provider by 31 December 2026, the one for 2025 by the end of 2027. After that it is lost, up to EUR 475 a year with one child born from 2008. With a permanent application your provider claims it for you every year.

What is the deadline to claim the Riester allowance?

What it costs

What you lose per year if you miss the deadline, under the existing Riester rules.

ExampleTypical range
Single, no childrenEUR 175 basic allowance
One child born before 2008EUR 175 plus 185, EUR 360 in total
One child born from 2008EUR 175 plus 300, EUR 475 in total
Married couple, both eligible, two children born from 20082 × EUR 175 plus 2 × EUR 300, EUR 950 in total
Minimum own contribution floorEUR 60 a year

Statutory values under the existing Riester rules, as of November 2026.

If your own contribution is too low, the allowance is reduced proportionally.

Your figures are in your provider's annual statement.

This is not individual tax advice.

Worked example

Mother, EUR 40,000 previous-year income, one child born 2015

She paid into her contract in 2024 but never sent a claim and has no permanent application.

4 percent of EUR 40,000EUR 1,600
minus basic and child allowanceEUR 475
Minimum own contribution for 2024EUR 1,125
Allowance for 2024 if she paid enoughEUR 475
Claim no later than31 December 2026

If she claims before New Year's Eve, EUR 475 is credited. After that the money for 2024 is lost. A permanent application stops this from happening again.

The two-year deadline explained

The Riester allowance (Zulage) is not paid automatically. You have to claim it for each contribution year, through the provider of your contract. The law gives you until the end of the second calendar year after the contribution year. Miss it and the allowance for that year is gone for good.

The tax deduction in your tax return is separate. It does not replace the allowance claim, because the tax office always offsets your allowance entitlement against it.

Contribution yearClaim byStatus in November 2026
202331 December 2025expired
202431 December 2026act now
202531 December 2027still time
202631 December 2028still time

The permanent application takes care of it

With a permanent application you authorise your provider to claim the allowance for you every year. You then only need to report changes such as a new child, marriage, divorce or a different income. You can revoke it until the end of the contribution year for which the provider should no longer apply.

Whether you already have one is usually shown in your annual statement, or your provider can tell you. Many contracts have it from the start.

If less allowance arrives than expected

Your provider sends a statement every year listing the allowances credited. If something is missing, you can file a request for assessment (Festsetzungsantrag) with the Central Allowance Office for Retirement Assets (ZfA). You have one year from receiving the statement.

The most common reason for a reduced allowance is a contribution that is too low. The minimum own contribution is 4 percent of the previous year's income, capped at EUR 2,100, minus the allowances, and at least EUR 60 a year. Pay less and you only get part of the allowance. You cannot pay in later for past years.

What the 2027 reform changes

For allowances up to and including 2026 the deadline stays as it is. Existing Riester contracts continue after the reform. From 1 January 2027 you can switch voluntarily to the new subsidy, with 50 cents per euro up to EUR 360 of own contributions and 25 cents per euro up to EUR 1,800. You cannot switch back afterwards.

A classic Riester contract under the old rules can only be taken out until 31 December 2026. The authorities have not yet described in detail how claims under the new subsidy will work, so we do not state a deadline for it here.

Step by step

  1. Find your provider's latest annual statement and check which allowances were credited.
  2. Ask your provider whether a permanent application is on file.
  3. If not, send the claim for 2024 and 2025 now.
  4. Fill in the permanent application at the same time.
  5. Report children, marriage and income changes to your provider.
  6. If an allowance is missing, file the request for assessment within one year.

Checklist

  • Allowance for 2024 claimed by 31 December 2026
  • Permanent application given
  • Children listed with year of birth and child benefit entitlement
  • Minimum own contribution reached for the current year
  • Annual statement checked every year
  • Plans to move abroad checked with the provider

Common mistakes

  • Thinking the tax return replaces the allowance claim
  • Not reporting a new child and losing the child allowance
  • Not adjusting the contribution after a pay rise
  • Cancelling the contract out of frustration and repaying all allowances

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

Can I still claim the allowance for 2023?

No, that deadline ended on 31 December 2025.

2024 and 2025 are still open.

Do I have to claim every year?

Only without a permanent application.

With it, your provider claims each year and you just report changes.

Does the deadline apply to the child allowance too?

Yes, it is part of the same claim.

If you do not list the child, the child allowance for that year is lost once the deadline passes.

Will I get the higher subsidy automatically from 2027?

No.

The new subsidy only applies if you switch your contract to the new rules or take out a new

contract.

Without a switch, the old Riester rules continue.

Can I top up missing contributions for past years?

No, back payments for past years are not possible.

Adjust your contribution before the year ends.

What if I leave Germany?

If you live outside the EU and the European Economic Area once the payout phase starts,

the subsidy can be clawed back under section 95 Income Tax Act.

Tell your provider before you move and ask what applies to your country.

Sources

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