[REVISION HISTORY]

German Riester pension legal rulings

Updated 2 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-07-30 02:19 UTC → 2026-07-30 04:48 UTC · added ~~removed~~

On 28 July 2026, Germany’s Federal Court of Justice ruled that annual fees imposed on Riester building‑savings contracts are unlawful because they unfairly burden savers and primarily serve the banks’ interests. The judgment could enable affected savers to reclaim fees for at least the previous three years. The ~~next~~ following day, ~~29 July 2026,~~ the Federal Fiscal Court clarified that the electronic transmission of Riester contribution data to tax authorities does not constitute a request for the special‑expense deduction. Taxpayers must still declare the deduction on the Anlage AV form of their income‑tax return; otherwise the deduction will be denied even when the data have been reported electronically. The court’s decision examined a case where a husband contributed €1,947.95 in 2019, the provider sent the data electronically, but the couple omitted the deduction in their 2020 return. A later corrected return was rejected because the electronic report alone did not demonstrate a clear request. The ruling underscores the need to use Anlage AV to claim the deduction and leaves open how contributions after 30 June 2020 will be treated. These ~~consecutive~~ rulings together tighten consumer protection for Riester participants, addressing both contract‑fee practices and the procedural steps required to obtain tax benefits. ~~No further legal developments concerning Riester pensions have been reported in the monitoring period following these judgments.~~

Versions

Only revisions since CLSTR began indexing content versions appear here. Select a version to see what changed compared to the one before it.