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investify TECH supports financial service providers in rapidly implementing pension scheme reform
Published: 19.02.2026 | By investify
The Federal Government has paved the way for fundamental restructuring of the private pension scheme. Two new pillars – the retirement savings account and the early retirement pension – are opening up a market that requires early preparation, scalable systems and a short time-to-market. With its software-as-a-service and platform approach, investify TECH offers financial service providers a fast and secure solution.
The retirement savings account replaces the previous Riester scheme with a tax-incentivised, capital market-based pension account for adults. Instead of capital guarantees, the new model relies on broad market access and higher long-term return opportunities. Together with 30 other leading digital banks, brokers and asset managers, investify TECH advocated for this new regulation in the summer of 2025.
The reform is complemented by the early retirement pension. From the age of six to 18, children receive ten euros per month into an individually managed, funded pension account. Digital processes, transparent cost structures and simple onboarding are key design principles for both products.
Following the coalition committee meeting on October 9, 2025, the Federal Government confirmed the accelerated timetable, and on December 17, 2025, the cabinet approved the key points of the reform. Operational implementation is scheduled to begin in early 2026. The reform is to enter into force on January 1, 2027, with the early retirement pension even coming into effect retroactively on January 1, 2026. For financial institutions, one thing is clear: there is no time to wait and see.
Unique sales opportunities – rapid implementation required
The entire industry is currently responding with a high level of willingness to implement, as parts of the huge pension market could be completely redistributed. Around 15 million existing Riester contracts can be transferred or revitalized in e.g. standard custody accounts, without losing their tax advantages, and many millions of new customers can be acquired at the start. Not surprising: Neobrokers and other innovative players plan to provide solutions and enormous marketing budgets at the launch of the reform in January 2027, according to industry sources.
“No one can afford to miss the green light and thus the market division. The new pension contracts (“standard custody accounts”) also offer an excellent basis for attractive upselling in regular custody accounts. For established financial institutions, this means considerable pressure to act on an operational level. Only a highly automated, scalable infrastructure can ensure that millions of government-subsidised, long-term contracts are efficiently distributed, transferred and managed. Traditional legacy systems have clear (time) limitations in this area,” says Dr Harald Brock, Managing Director of investify TECH. “Many institutions are unlikely to have the necessary resources for this. Software-as-a-Service solutions with white-label capabilities can solve these problems.”
investify TECH implements retirement savings account as a white-label platform solution
“Financial institutions should now review their systems based on key criteria: scalability, compliance, digital user experience, interfaces to suitable custodians, and related time-to-market aspects. Where gaps exist, swift action is required,” explains Brock. investify TECH will therefore implement the retirement savings account with relevant custodian banks and asset managers as a white-label solution on the basis of the existing platform, which is already being used successfully by numerous renowned financial service providers. This can then be easily implemented at other banks, insurance companies, asset managers, broker pools and other providers. investify TECH will work with the custodian banks to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements and will continue to develop the product on an ongoing basis. “Fast, simple, secure and cost-effective,” says Brock “are the core advantages of our platform solution. It helps our partners to offer secure and compliant solutions with minimal own resources and ahead of many competitors.
Efficiency and cost awareness are also important, as the standard custody account will have a cost cap, which is currently still under discussion. Cost limits between 0.5 and 1.5 percent are being considered.”
Conclusion: “The pension reform will fundamentally change the way in which long-term wealth is built up in Germany in some areas. Financial institutions are being called upon to quickly translate political ambitions into marketable products. This is because speed and innovative strength are becoming key competitive factors in the new pension system. Here, investify TECH offers a quick solution with its platform,” says Brock.
