Retention that lasts
A pension account that grows with every year of service is sorely missed when someone leaves. Not a poster in the corridor, an account statement.
Occupational pension · Berlin
One company pension. Two perspectives.
For your team, a benefit they can actually see every month. For managing directors, the route to provision without the usual limits. Choose your perspective.
Track: For your team
For your teamPut in 100 euros net. Save 214 euros.
Those are the mechanics of salary conversion: the contribution comes out of gross pay. Tax and social security savings plus the employer top-up more than double your outlay, while the dent in your net pay stays small.
How the monthly savings contribution adds up214 euros
100 euros net
+86 euros tax and contributions
+28 euros
Your actual net outlay (100 euros)
Savings on tax and social security contributions (86 euros)
Employer top-up, 15 % of the converted amount (28 euros)
Sample calculation: born in 1990, tax class I, no children, 4,000 euros gross salary, 186 euros of salary conversion plus a 15 % employer top-up (as of 2026). The actual effect depends on tax class and income. To be fair: the benefits are taxable in the payout phase, and the conversion slightly reduces entitlements in the statutory social insurance system.
15 %
employer top-up on salary conversion, mandatory for new contracts since 2019 and for all contracts since 2022
676 euros
a month can go tax-free into a direct insurance policy in 2026, half of that (338 euros) also free of social security contributions
1
pension scheme rulebook governs entitlements, waiting periods and routes, instead of a patchwork of individual promises
Liability under control
The mandatory top-up, documented advice, clean contracts: employers who set up the company pension scheme properly avoid the typical liability pitfalls.
Understood, not just administered
Short employee sessions and plain-language documents turn the paperwork into a benefit the team actually talks about.
Track: For managing directors
For shareholder-managing directorsAt 676 euros a month, the road ends. Unless you know the second route.
The traditional routes
The insurance-based routes such as direct insurance are capped for tax purposes: 676 euros a month (as of 2026). Fine for employees, too little for a genuine provision target.
Reinsured Unterstützungskasse
The Unterstützungskasse, a German support-fund pension vehicle, has no fixed contribution ceiling. Contributions are geared to the provision target and the statutory appropriateness rules, not to a percentage cap.
How the money flows
Your GmbH
pays contributions, deductible as a business expense (§ 4d EStG)
Unterstützungskasse
an external pension provider that keeps the commitment off your balance sheet
Reinsurance policy
investable on a capital market basis, see the engine below
And at the end: you.
From retirement, the benefits flow to you personally: as a lifelong pension, as a lump sum, in instalments, or a combination. You decide at the end, not at the beginning.
§ 4d
of the German Income Tax Act (EStG) as the legal anchor: contributions within the statutory framework count as a business expense
0
provisions in the GmbH balance sheet: the commitment sits with the external provider, so key balance sheet figures usually remain untouched
5+
years as managing director is a typical benchmark for the period over which the commitment must be earned
Two routes. One of them knows no limit.
The standard
Direct insurance
Up to 676 euros a month tax-free (2026)
The balance sheet remains untouched
Payout: pension, pension plus up to 30 % as a lump sum, or everything at once
For employees, and as a starting point for managing directors
The route for shareholder-managing directors
Reinsured Unterstützungskasse
No fixed contribution ceiling, geared to the provision target
Balance-sheet-neutral, the commitment sits with the external provider
Payout: pension, 100 % as a lump sum, or payment in instalments
For managing directors and executives with a genuine provision target
In practice, the strongest answer is often the combination of both. Max out the limit first, then build beyond it. Details in the article.
Does the Unterstützungskasse fit your situation?
1
Your GmbH
is at least five years old
2
You yourself
have been running the company for several years
3
Your status
you hold shares and have a say in your own pension arrangement
4
Your numbers
stable profits and comfortable liquidity
5
Your horizon
roughly ten years or more until retirement
6
Your process
your tax advisor is on board, or ready to be
Four out of six apply? Then it is worth a conversation.
The engine behind it
At the core: an ETF investment inside an insurance wrapper.
Direct insurance or Unterstützungskasse: either way, the contributions are put to work in the capital markets. Three characteristics define the engine, three phases shape its life cycle.
ETF investment with real choice
Depending on the plan, more than 90 funds and ETFs are available, up to 20 of them at a time. If you prefer not to pick yourself, choose one of six ready-made portfolios, also available in a sustainable variant. Switching is free of charge up to 12 times a year, and without capital gains tax, unlike selling holdings in an investment account.
Compound interest over decades
Returns stay inside the contract and keep working. The longer the term, the wider the gap between what was paid in and what it can become. That gap is exactly what the curve below shows.
Guarantees as needed
Depending on the plan, the guarantee level can be set at five levels between 60 and 100 % and raised later during the life of the contract. With a 100 % contribution guarantee, the entire savings contribution from the example, all 214 euros including the top-up, is secured at retirement. To be honest: a higher guarantee means less return potential. The right level is something we settle in the consultation.
Let it grow
Up to 100 % of the contributions are put to work in the capital markets, and annual rebalancing automatically keeps the strategy on course. Fluctuations are part of the journey; time works for you.
Lock in gains
Before retirement, what has been built up is gradually de-risked (the red dot on the curve). If you wish, an automatic lock-in secures market gains along the way.
Pay out
A lifelong pension, a lump sum or both; with the Unterstützungskasse, 100 % can also be taken as a lump sum or in instalments. You decide at the end, not at the beginning.
Schematic illustration, not a performance forecast. Capital market investments are subject to fluctuations; guarantees, fund selection, ready-made portfolios, switching options, rebalancing and maturity management depend on the respective plan.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers
What happens to the company pension when an employee leaves?
With salary conversion, the accrued entitlements are vested immediately. The contract can usually be transferred to a new employer or continued privately, depending on the funding route and the plan.
What happens to my savings if the employer becomes insolvent?
With direct insurance, employees have a direct claim against the insurer; the savings built up through salary conversion are contractually beyond the employer's reach. For shareholder-managing directors, pledging the reinsurance policy provides this protection; it should be a standard part of the set-up.
What about parental leave or a career break?
Contributions can be paused, reduced or increased; depending on the plan, a pause can run for up to 24 months, or up to 36 months during parental leave. Missed contributions can even be made up tax-free after returning to work, subject to conditions. One-off payments such as a Christmas bonus can also flow into the contract from gross pay.
My GmbH is less than five years old. Are there still options?
Often yes: if the provision is funded through genuine salary conversion from the current managing director salary, the tax hurdles such as probation periods and the requirement to earn the commitment are largely considered met. You can therefore start much earlier than many people think; the exact structure should be worked out with the tax advisor.
Isn't the Unterstützungskasse too inflexible?
It is designed for the long term; that is part of its tax logic. This is exactly why the suitability check comes first: if the time horizon does not fit, another route is the better answer. Intermediate solutions such as paying the contributions in instalments are possible, depending on the structure.
Why does the tax advisor have to be involved?
For shareholder-managing directors, the pension arrangement touches corporate income tax, the appropriateness rules and company law. That assessment belongs in the tax advisor's office. I provide a written key-terms paper with the specific review items, so nobody starts from scratch.
Are the contributions safe when the capital markets fluctuate?
Fluctuations are part of capital market investing. Depending on the plan, guarantee components and maturity management are available; the latter gradually de-risks the investment in the years before retirement. Which level of security fits is something we settle in the consultation, not a default setting.
Going deeper
Articles on this topic
The Unterstützungskasse in detail
How it works, the requirements, the tax anchors.
Direct insurance or Unterstützungskasse?
Two routes, two logics, one decision aid.
The company pension as a retention tool
Why a company pension retains people where other benefits fizzle out.
How we start
Three steps, no small print.
01
A 30-minute initial consultation
Your starting point and your goal, in Berlin or by video. Free of charge, without obligation, and no documents to prepare.
02
Analysis plus key-terms paper
You receive a concrete proposal, your tax advisor a written key-terms paper with all the review items.
03
Implementation and ongoing support
Set-up, resolutions, documentation. After that, I get in touch when the legal framework or your situation changes.
Contact
Book an initial consultation
Briefly describe your starting point. I will get back to you with suggested appointment times, in person in Berlin or online.
The content on this page is general information and not a substitute for individual advice. Tax structuring is coordinated with the client's tax advisor.