Am I directly or indirectly eligible for funding?
"Directly eligible" are employees who are subject to compulsory contributions in the statutory pension scheme and are therefore affected by the reduction in the pension level. The same applies to civil servants, judges, and career soldiers as well as employees with a similar pension scheme. Since 2008, this also includes disability pensioners and pension recipients.
If both spouses belong to the eligible group, each of them is entitled to the pension bonus separately. The condition is that each has taken out a pension contract and makes contributions. To receive the maximum bonus, each spouse must pay the required minimum contribution of 4 percent of the previous year's income.
However, if only one spouse belongs to the eligible group, the non-eligible spouse (e.g. housewife, self-employed) has a derived bonus entitlement and is therefore "indirectly eligible". The indirect bonus eligibility takes into account that the other spouse is also affected by the reduction in the pension level, as they will later receive lower survivor's benefits. The condition for indirect bonus eligibility is that both spouses have each taken out a Riester contract in their name and the indirectly eligible spouse pays at least 60 Euro per contribution year into their contract.
(2023): Am I directly or indirectly eligible for funding?
How much are allowances and special expenses for Riester?
Anyone who pays an annual minimum contribution of 4 per cent of the previous year's income into their Riester contract receives the full bonuses. Every Riester saver receives the so-called basic bonus, which is 175 Euro. A flat-rate child bonus is paid for each child eligible for child benefit. This amounts to 185 Euro for children born before 2008 and 300 Euro for children born on or after 1 January 2008. Unless otherwise agreed, the child bonus is paid into the mother's account. However, the spouses can apply for the child bonus to be allocated to the father. Such a transfer application remains valid until it is revoked. By the way, the application is possible for each individual child, so that, for example, one child can be allocated to the father and one child to the mother.
Example: A married couple with two children (born in 2002 and 2009) receives a total of 835 Euro in Riester bonuses per year.
If you do not pay the respective minimum contribution into the Riester contract, you will only receive the bonuses on a pro rata basis. However, you can deduct the bonuses directly from your calculated minimum personal contribution (four per cent of the previous year's income). The remainder is your actual minimum savings amount that you must pay to receive the full bonuses.
Since 2008, a maximum of 2,100 Euro can be deducted as special expenses. This makes the tax advantages particularly worthwhile for high-earning savers. You must claim the special expenses deduction in your income tax return for the year in which you paid the contributions into the Riester contract. Not only your own contributions are eligible, but also the Riester bonuses. The decisive factor is always your bonus entitlement, not the actual bonus paid. Even if you do not apply for a bonus, the bonus entitlement can be deducted as special expenses and is added in the income tax favourable assessment. It is therefore not advisable to forgo the pension bonus and instead take the tax advantage for your own use.
(2023): How much are allowances and special expenses for Riester?
