While politics argues about a pension mandate that does not exist yet, a reform that already passed is worth more to you. From January 2027 self-employed people with business income can, for the first time, claim the state subsidy for private pension saving: up to €540 a year on top of €1,800 of your own money. Until then the three live options are a Rürup contract (deductible up to €30,826 in 2026 for singles), voluntary contributions to the statutory pension (€112.16 to €1,571.70 a month in 2026) and, in the chamber professions, your Versorgungswerk.
The pension debate for the self-employed has been the same headline for three years: will you be forced into the statutory system, and on what terms. That fight matters, and it is covered in our piece on the pension mandate. It is also not the thing to act on this month.
The thing to act on is quieter. On 8 May 2026 the Bundesrat approved the Altersvorsorge-Reformgesetz, and it does something no Riester reform managed: it lets self-employed people collect the subsidy. Here is the full menu, with the 2026 numbers and where each one hurts.
Rürup: the deduction with a lock on it
A Basisrente, usually called Rürup, is the option built for people without an employer. Contributions are deductible as Sonderausgaben, at 100% since 2023.
The ceiling is where most articles print a stale number, so here is the derivation. § 10 Abs. 3 EStG does not name a euro figure at all. It sets the ceiling equal to the maximum contribution in the miners' pension scheme, rounded up to a full euro, and doubles it for spouses assessed jointly. That maximum is two published inputs multiplied: the contribution ceiling of the knappschaftliche Rentenversicherung, €124,800 a year in 2026, and its contribution rate, 24.7%. So €124,800 × 24.7% = €30,825.60, rounded up to €30,826 for a single person and €61,652 for a jointly assessed couple in 2026. Both inputs change every year, which is exactly why last year's figure keeps circulating.
The lock is real and worth reading before you sign. Under § 10 Abs. 1 Nr. 2 b EStG a Basisrente pays a monthly lifelong annuity, no earlier than age 62, and the claim is not inheritable, transferable, pledgeable, disposable or capitalisable. No lump sum, no early exit, no using it as collateral. In exchange it is protected in insolvency and in the Grundsicherung means test. If your profit swings and you might need that money at 48, this is the wrong container.
The statutory pension, voluntarily
You can pay into the Deutsche Rentenversicherung without being forced to. § 7 SGB VI opens voluntary contributions to anyone who is not compulsorily insured, from age 16. In 2026 the minimum is €112.16 a month and the maximum €1,571.70, and the contribution rate stays at 18.6% for the ninth year running.
There is a second, less known door with a deadline on it. § 4 Abs. 2 SGB VI lets a self-employed person apply for full compulsory insurance, but only within five years of taking up the activity. Miss the window and it closes. Whether that is a good idea depends on your age, what is already in your account and what else you hold. The DRV advises on this free of charge, and this is the one question worth taking to them rather than to a broker.
Versorgungswerk, if your profession has one
Doctors, lawyers, architects, tax advisers, notaries and other chamber professions save in a Versorgungswerk instead of the statutory scheme, and in most Länder membership is mandatory rather than optional. Contribution levels, minimum contributions and top-up rules are set per chamber and per state. There is no national figure to quote here, and anyone who quotes one is quoting a single chamber. Ask yours directly, and ask specifically about voluntary additional contributions, because that is where the room usually is.
New from January 2027: the subsidy finally includes you
The Altersvorsorge-Reformgesetz replaces Riester with a new set of products from 1 January 2027: an Altersvorsorgedepot without a capital guarantee, guarantee products for people who want one, and a standard product with costs capped at 1.0%.
The part that changes your planning is who gets the money. Per the BMF, people with business income under § 15 or § 18 EStG who file a tax return become directly eligible for the state subsidy. That is most freelancers and most Gewerbetreibende, and it is the first time.
The subsidy works as a match, not a bonus. The state adds 50 cents per euro you save up to €360 a year, then 25 cents per euro on the next €361 to €1,800, so the maximum Grundzulage is €540 a year. Per child there is €1 per euro on up to €300. Savers under 25 get a one-off €200. You can pay in up to €6,840 a year; up to €1,800 of that attracts the subsidy.
Two honest caveats. Products do not exist yet, so nobody can compare fees, and the 2027 contracts will be sold hard from January onwards. And a match on €1,800 is real money but it is not a retirement plan on its own.
The Aktivrente is not for you
Since 1 January 2026, people who keep working past the standard retirement age can earn up to €2,000 a month tax-free. Deutsche Rentenversicherung Knappschaft-Bahn-See states the limit plainly and states just as plainly who is out: the Aktivrente does not apply to self-employed people, business owners, farmers and foresters, minijobs or civil servants. It is a tax relief on wages.
Associations fought it. According to VGSD, which ran the campaign with the BAGSV alliance, the petition reached 102,420 signatures with 45 organisations involved. The law passed unchanged. Plan around it: a freelancer working at 68 pays income tax on the same euros an employed neighbour receives tax-free.
The number nobody has
There is no verified 2026 figure for how much German freelancers actually put aside for retirement. Several surveys touch the topic, none of them answers it cleanly, so we are not printing a percentage. What is documented is the direction of the debate, and the fact that the tools above are available whether or not a mandate arrives.
What to do on Monday
- Work out your Rürup headroom for the year. €30,826 single, €61,652 joint in 2026, minus what you have already paid. A one-off top-up counts for the tax year only if the money leaves your account by 31 December.
- Check the five-year clock. If you went self-employed less than five years ago, decide on the § 4 Abs. 2 SGB VI application before the window closes. Book the free DRV consultation for this specific question.
- If you are in a chamber profession, ask your Versorgungswerk two things: the current minimum contribution and the ceiling for voluntary top-ups.
- Put January 2027 in the calendar for the Altersvorsorgedepot. Do not sign in week one. Compare the standard product's 1.0% cost cap against whatever your bank offers.
- Separate the pension question from the cash-flow question. If your reserve is thin, fix that first; our piece on financial traps for freelancers covers the order of operations.
Every one of these options needs contributions, and contributions need billable days. If yours are uneven, that is the more urgent problem: a free 9am profile puts you in front of companies across DACH that hire freelancers. And if retirement is closer than it used to be, our piece on freelancing after 50 has the positioning side.
This article is general information for practitioners. It is not investment advice and does not replace tax or financial advice on your own situation.
