SteuerGo FAQs

Who receives the child allowance?

The government supports Riester contracts with bonuses and tax advantages. The basis of the Riester funding is the basic bonus for the saver themselves and the child bonus if the saver has children. The child bonus is not automatically received by the parent who also receives the child benefit, but generally by the mother if married. If both parents apply, the child bonus can also be transferred to the father.

To do this, you must enter the number of children in your tax return - in the AV annex - for whom the child bonus is to be transferred from the mother to the father. You must also specify in the bonus application with your Riester provider if you want to transfer the child bonus to the father. If the parents are permanently separated or not married, the child bonus goes to the parent who is fully taxable and actually receives the child benefit.

This can also be a stepfather or stepmother. If the entitlement to child benefit changed during the year, the decisive factor is who received the child benefit at the beginning of the year.

To receive the full funding, you must save four per cent of the previous year's income subject to social insurance contributions. The relevant amount is the previous year's income. If you save less, you will receive a partial bonus. If you are temporarily not liquid, you can suspend your Riester contract, but you will also have to forgo the government funding. Non-eligible spouses can receive the basic bonus if they have their own Riester contract and pay in at least the minimum amount of 60 Euro.

The following calculation shows how the funding works for a family with two children:

The gross family income is 40.000 Euro in the year 2023. For the full funding, at least 1.600 Euro must be paid into the Riester contract in the year 2024.

The government helps with the basic bonus of a total of 350 Euro for both spouses (2 times 175 Euro).

In addition, there is the child bonus of 185 Euro per child (born before 2008). For two children, this amounts to 720 Euro in government bonuses that the family is entitled to annually. These are deducted from the 1.600 Euro minimum savings, so the family only has to contribute 880 Euro in the year 2024. If the personal contribution is lower, the funding will be reduced accordingly.