Don't take
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Parents can gift up to 400,000 € per child every 10 years tax-free. Spouses are eligible to transfer up to 500,000 € every ten years free from gift tax. Additional allowances apply depending on the relationship.

The tax benefit of your pension plan with Pensionfriend is that:

• You pay capital gain tax only once, as the private pension functions as a tax shield when you take out the money. If you would instead have an ETF portfolio with a broker, you pay tax every year on the gains beyond the threshold. The big drawback is that the tax you paid is no longer invested and no longer earns money for you.

• Only half of the return on your investments is subject to taxation if you pay it out at a lump sum from age 62 onwards and if you have held the pension contract for more than 12 years.

It can be attractive to take your payments in different tranches to reduce your tax liability, as your pension income is much lower. Most likely, you will not pay more than the normal capital gains tax of 26,375 %.

Yes — you can change beneficiaries, ownership percentages, and contribution amounts at any time.

We at Pensionfriend are fully transparent about our simple, low-cost structure: We only charge 0,69 % for the pension plan per year. For portfolios over 250.000 €, the overall fee declines to 0,49 %. And that's it: No hidden fees, no closing costs, not even a cancellation fee if you do not want to continue your contract.

This service fee is based on your average fund assets per year and is deducted from your capital on a monthly pro-rata basis.

For smaller contracts, we charge a 5 EUR “fee” per month until the value of your contract reaches 10.000 EUR. But this is not a real fee: the 5 EUR are invested in a loyalty fund, and the whole sum will be transferred back to you at age 62 when the tax benefits of a private pension plan are available. This loyalty premium can be avoided if you start Pensionfriend with a 10k one-time investment.

For the ETF, we have pretty low running costs (0,15 % — 0,28 %), depending on which ETF portfolio you choose. These fees are going completely to the ETF provider.

Compared to ETFs that track the same stock index you buy through a broker, you have three major benefits:

1. A tax-efficient structure where you only pay taxes on half of your gains once at the end instead of every year. This saves the average user 0,6-1 % per year over a 30-year period.

2. We rebalance for you, so you don't have to be bothered. Moreover, our rebalancing algorithm can add about 0,1-0,2 % per year.

3. We pick ETFs that cost less and even earn some side fees that are reflected in an extra appreciation. This saves the typical user 0,2-0,4 % annually over the medium term. Compared to other pension plans, a huge benefit is that you have no large upfront fees. This means you are not locked in due to the cost you already made. It gives you flexibility.
   Moreover, we work with the lowest-cost insurance companies to bring you these offers. And don't be mistaken: higher cost does not mean better returns. Higher-cost insurance companies have higher profits and advertising budgets. The underlying risk is the same. With Pensionfriend, you can choose out of 500 ETFs, but we recommend our Pensionfriend ETF mix, which outperforms benchmarks like the MSCI World and S&P 500 in unbiased data trials and in line with fundamental economic logic.

No — portfolio adjustments and growth within the product do not trigger capital gains tax.

Our pension team is passionate, dedicated, and world-class, focused on all aspects of the pension decision to help you plan for a safe and sound financial future. Our biggest advantage is that we understand investments. 

Dr. Chris Mulder was head of the public investment advisory at the World Bank and knows how to separate the chaff from the wheat. Our advice is based on unbiased data, unlike virtually every other investment advisory. 

Our team of economists, insurance, legal, and financial experts have dissected Germany's unprecedentedly complex pension and tax system, so we have developed formulas to calculate and forecast taxes and benefits as accurately as possible.

The Pensionfriend team is moreover supported by a brilliant team of software engineers and product managers. This allows us to bring you calculators that others can only dream of. This way, you can calculate for yourself how your future looks. Yes, we are proud of our team! In sum, you have finance, tax, pension, and calculation experts all at your service, so you can review your basic situation in minutes and then take your time to go over different scenarios to help you build a safe and sound financial future.

The full value, including gains, is paid to your beneficiaries income tax-free (except for the 1 % of the amount which was not gifted yet).

We do not hold your assets; they are held by our cooperation partner, Liechtenstein Life, which is based in Liechtenstein and is, therefore, subject to Liechtenstein national laws.

This is a great advantage for you because it means that in case of insolvency, your assets must be managed as special assets according to Liechtenstein's bankruptcy code and are therefore transferred to you; nobody else can touch them (see article 59 (1) of the Liechtenstein Insurance Supervision Act).

This is unlike in Germany, where these assets would just become part of the insolvency estate.

Learn more about how your investments are protected as special assets.

We do not hold your assets; they are held by our cooperation partner, Liechtenstein Life, which is based in Liechtenstein and is, therefore, subject to Liechtenstein national laws.

This is a great advantage for you because it means that in case of insolvency, your assets must be managed as special assets according to Liechtenstein's bankruptcy code and are therefore transferred to you; nobody else can touch them (see article 59 (1) of the Liechtenstein Insurance Supervision Act).

This is unlike in Germany, where these assets would just become part of the insolvency estate.

At Pensionfriend, we prioritize cost-efficient investing, favoring low-cost products over high-cost funds. We emphasize asset allocation, favoring stocks over bonds in low-interest environments, and use extensive historical data for informed benchmark selection. Currency choice and risk diversification are key considerations for us. We advocate for portfolio rebalancing and caution against active management due to high risk.

We emphasize understanding risk tolerance and maintaining discipline. Furthermore, we advise against annuity-based products, especially in low-interest rate scenarios. We recommend long-term investing in low-cost, diversified indices, aligning with research showing underperformance in active management and high-fee products. You can find more information about our Investment Philosophy here.