What to do with the Riester pension insurance?

If you get about €70 interest per year on your €2800 balance, that is a guaranteed interest rate of about 2.5%. How much do you pay at the bank? It should almost be worth saving there even without subsidies. And with subsidies included, definitely. If your tax savings exceed the premiums, you can still use the refund for special repayment.

Taxes, roughly estimated. 30 thousand to be taxed, 30% of that is 9000. 70% of that with immediate payment would be 6300. Or the 9000 spread out, I think until I’m 85, I forgot exactly how it was, but it wouldn’t kill you per month anyway. Whether it’s better without Riester is hypothetical, it’s there after all. And my wife also has one, she funds it as a real supplementary pension, hers is also more lucrative because she received the child allowances earlier, I did not. By the way, we both have Riester 100% in stocks. Karsten

That all sounds very good so far.

But I still don’t quite understand it; I can’t find any information regarding the payout of the "normal" Riester. I only keep coming across the Wohnriester.

So, assuming I would now contribute 2100€ + 775€ annually to my Riester, I could use that to significantly reduce my remaining debt in 15 years.
Advantage: 775€ gifted, high interest
Disadvantage: the withdrawn money is taxed when the pension starts.

Exactly. Call the German Pension Insurance or make an appointment with a pension advisor in your region. Your Riester provider does not advise fairly; they do not want you to know everything. It is not beneficial to their business. As I understand it, you have a standard Riester that is paid out as a pension. Now note that BEFORE the pension starts, you may withdraw the accumulated capital in part or in full without having to repay grants, if the capital is used to finance owner-occupied residential property or to repay a loan on it. Equivalent is also the use for payment of cooperative shares in cooperative apartments with low rent. This Riester use is only carried out if you apply for approval from the DRV. If everything is okay and the application is approved, it happens quickly! Then the provider must release the money to you. They have to, whether they like it or not. You only have to decide whether to fully terminate the contract, sensibly shortly before retirement, or leave at least 3,000 standing, then you can continue contributing to it and later possibly top it up again upon retirement. So you do not have to take out a new Wohnriester. That is a kind of subsidized loan, but here it is about a subsidized savings contract that becomes a pension or serves for housing care in old age. Karsten

Great, thanks for the tip! I have now flipped through it, I think it is a regular Riester. "Insurance certificate for your pension insurance as retirement provision" Debeka tariff FFR(5) "Klassik"

So let's assume I would now invest €2100 + €775 annually in my Riester, then I could significantly reduce my remaining debt in 15 years. Advantage: €775 gifted, high interest

And forget the advantage you already have now if you properly declare the Riester contributions in the tax return.

That’s also a few € every year.