Basic provision
The mandatory layer and its tax-advantaged counterpart for everyone who has to provide for themselves.
- State pension
- Basisrente (a German tax-advantaged personal pension, often called Rürup pension), primarily for the self-employed
Private provision & protection · Berlin
Build wealth. Protect your income.
Your financial future stands on two legs: the wealth you build for later, and the income that carries that build-up in the first place. This page covers both. Choose your perspective.
Track: Provision
ProvisionThe state pension is a foundation. Not a finished house.
It is financed on a pay-as-you-go basis: today's contributions pay today's pensions. Because ever fewer contributors face ever more pensioners, a noticeable gap typically remains between your last net salary and your pension. Your annual pension statement tells you how large it is for you. What you do about it plays out on three levels.
Subsidised additional provision
The state or your employer adds something on top. If you are employed, check here first.
- A company pension through your employer
- Riester pension, depending on your family situation
Private provision without a straitjacket
No subsidy rules, full freedom to shape it. This is where the part of your provision that you decide for yourself takes shape.
- ETF-based pension insurance, mechanics below
- An investment account as a flexible complement
Which level takes priority for you depends on employment status, tax situation and time horizon. That order is exactly what we settle in the initial consultation.
Two starting points, two levers.
For the self-employed
The tax lever: the Basisrente
If you are self-employed, you often have no foundation from the state pension and a high tax burden instead. The Basisrente targets exactly that: contributions count as special expenses directly against your tax bill, and depending on the plan, the capital grows in an ETF investment.
30,825.60 eurosmaximum amount for 2026 for single taxpayers, deductible as special expenses
61,652 eurosmaximum amount for 2026 for jointly assessed spouses
The honest trade-off
The Basisrente pays a lifelong pension; there is no lump-sum payout. The balance cannot be freely inherited like an investment account. In return, the tax deduction is available today. Whether that trade fits your life plans belongs at the start of the consultation, not at the end.
For employees
Use your employer first, then build freely
Before any private money flows, one question needs answering: does your employer offer a company pension? There, the tax advantage and the mandatory employer top-up help you save; leaving that money on the table is rarely wise.
Beyond that, the third level builds: an ETF-based pension insurance policy that is tied to you rather than to your employment contract. You fund it yourself, take it with you wherever you go and adapt it to each phase of life. If you change jobs, take parental leave or a career break, it simply keeps running.
The rule of thumb on order: check the subsidised level first, then top up your own floor.
The engine behind it
At the core: an ETF investment inside an insurance wrapper.
You know the capital markets from your investment account. The insurance wrapper gives them a different framework: long term, treated under its own tax rules, and with a lifelong pension at the end if you wish.
ETF investment with switching freedom
Depending on the plan, a broad selection of ETFs and funds is available. Switching happens inside the running contract, so the allocation can be adjusted to life stages and market views. What switching and payout mean for tax is shown in the two points below these cards.
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. Fluctuations are part of the journey; a long investment horizon has historically often balanced them out.
Guarantees as needed
Depending on the plan, guarantees on the contributions can be selected. To be honest: more guarantee means less return potential, because less capital is at work in the market. The right level is a question for the consultation, not a default setting.
Fund switching without capital gains tax
Inside the contract, the funds can be switched up to 12 times a year free of charge, depending on the plan, and without capital gains tax falling due, unlike a sale in an investment account.
Half-income taxation at payout
If the payout is taken as capital after a contract term of at least 12 years and from age 62, the Halbeinkünfteverfahren (half-income taxation) applies: only half of the gains is taxable, under the law as it stands today. If the lifelong pension is chosen instead, only the income portion of the pension is taxable.
General illustration, not a performance forecast. Capital market investments are subject to fluctuations; fund selection, switching options and guarantees depend on the respective plan. Tax statements reflect the law as it stands today and do not replace tax advice.
Track: Protection
Your ability to workYour biggest asset is not in any investment account. It gets up every morning.
Everything you will earn until retirement, every rent payment, every loan instalment, every savings plan hangs on a single source: your ability to work. If it fails, the whole plan fails. That is exactly the source occupational disability insurance (Berufsunfähigkeitsversicherung) protects.
Statistically, around one in four working people becomes unable to work in their occupation at some point in their career. The state's reduced-earning-capacity pension kicks in late and does not replace your accustomed income.
Cover that grows with you
Depending on the plan, the cover can be increased without a new health assessment after a pay rise, marriage, a child or starting a business. Joining young and healthy eases access and the risk assessment, depending on the plan for the entire contract term.
A benefit that does not stand still
A benefit dynamic increases the ongoing payout while a claim is running, depending on the plan. Without it, a benefit paid over many years loses noticeable purchasing power.
The small print that matters
A waiver of abstract referral (abstrakte Verweisung) means: what counts is your specific occupation, not some other one you could in theory still practise. A central review item in the consultation, not a detail for the footnotes.
For the self-employed this is existential
Employees have a safety net of continued salary payments and sickness benefit during longer illness. The self-employed have their revenue, and revenue pays no sick leave. If you are self-employed, you protect your ability to work not as an option but as the foundation of your business model.
Health insurance
Statutory or private: a decision for life.
Two systems, two logics. Neither is better across the board, but one fits your situation better. The difference lies in the principle.
The solidarity system
Statutory health insurance
Pay-as-you-go: today's contributions pay for today's treatments
The premium is based on your income, not on your state of health
The benefits catalogue is defined by law and can be changed by law
Family co-insurance for spouses and children is possible, subject to conditions
The contract system
Private health insurance
Benefits are contractually guaranteed and cannot be cut by legislation
The premium is based on your state of health and entry age, not on your income
The scope of benefits can be chosen depending on the plan, from solid cover to premium care
Each person has their own contract with their own premium
Who private health insurance is open to
Employees above the compulsory insurance threshold
The self-employed and freelancers
Civil servants
An honest word before any enthusiasm
Private health insurance is a decision for life. Returning to the statutory system is difficult and in many situations ruled out. This decision deserves careful scrutiny, with a view to premium development in old age, family planning and career path, not a quick signature.
New to Germany as a diplomat or expat? For international cases there is a dedicated page with advice in three languages: health insurance for expats and diplomats.
Take out cover online
The simple things take you minutes.
Not every insurance policy needs an appointment. You can take out simple products directly online, with me as the contact person behind them when questions or a claim arise.
Personal liabilityThe basic cover every household needs: damage you cause to others, small cause, large sum (application in German)
Home contentsEverything in your home, covered against burglary, fire, water and storms (application in German)
Legal expensesA dispute with your employer or landlord, or after a road accident: a lawyer without the cost risk (application in German)
Dental top-upHigh-quality dental work without the bill becoming a second pain (application in German)
Dental top-up during ongoing treatmentEven if treatment has already begun, taking out cover is still possible depending on the plan (application in German)
How we start
Three steps, no small print.
01
A 30-minute initial consultation
Your starting point, your goals and what is already in place, in Berlin or by video. Free of charge, without obligation, and no documents to prepare.
02
A specific proposal
You receive a clear recommendation with honest trade-offs, thought through from your net income, not from a product brochure.
03
Implementation and ongoing support
Applications, health questions, documentation. After that, I get in touch when the legal framework or your situation changes.
Frequently asked questions
Quick answers
Isn't the state pension enough if I have paid in for a long time?
The state pension is meant as a foundation, not as a full replacement for your income. It is financed on a pay-as-you-go basis: today's contributions pay today's pensions. Because ever fewer contributors face ever more pensioners, a noticeable gap typically remains between your last net salary and your pension. Your annual pension statement shows how large it is for you; that is the starting point of every consultation.
What makes an ETF-based pension insurance policy different from an investment account?
In an investment account, you manage everything yourself and pay tax on gains when you sell. In an ETF-based pension insurance policy, the same capital markets work inside an insurance wrapper: fund switches inside the contract do not trigger capital gains tax, guarantees can be chosen depending on the plan, and at the end a lifelong pension is available if you wish. In return, the contract is designed for the long term. The combination of both is often the strongest answer.
Is the Basisrente worthwhile for me as a self-employed person?
It is above all a tax lever: in 2026, contributions of up to 30,825.60 euros for single taxpayers and 61,652 euros for jointly assessed spouses are deductible as special expenses. In return, clear rules apply: a lifelong pension instead of a lump-sum payout, and no free inheritability like an investment account. Whether the tax advantage outweighs that commitment for you depends on profit, tax rate and life plans; that is exactly what we calculate together in the consultation.
Do I really need occupational disability insurance?
Statistically, around one in four working people becomes unable to work in their occupation at some point in their career. The state's reduced-earning-capacity pension kicks in late and does not secure your accustomed income. For the self-employed this applies twice over, because the sickness-benefit safety net employees have is missing. The earlier you sign up, the better your state of health usually is, and with it your access; depending on the plan, the cover can be increased later without a new health assessment.
Is private health insurance the right decision for me?
It can be, if you belong to the groups it is open to: the self-employed, civil servants and employees above the compulsory insurance threshold. In private health insurance, benefits are contractually guaranteed, and the premium is based on your state of health and entry age rather than your income. To be honest: private health insurance is a decision for life, and returning to the statutory system is difficult. That is why this decision deserves careful scrutiny, not a hasty signature.
Can I take out simple insurance policies directly online?
Yes. You can take out personal liability, home contents, legal expenses or dental top-up cover directly online via the links on this page, no appointment needed. The difference from an anonymous comparison portal: behind each of these contracts, I am your personal contact when questions or a claim arise.
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. Benefits, guarantees and acceptance conditions depend on the respective plan.