Old-age provision and basic pension contracts; application for certification
If you wish to market tax-incentivized pension or basic annuity contracts, you must first apply for certification for these and be granted certification by the certification body - the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
Description
The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) is responsible for the certification of old-age provision contracts ("Riester") and basic pension contracts ("Rürup"). For contributions made to certified contracts, a special expense deduction can be claimed in the income tax return and, in the case of old-age provision contracts, the old-age provision allowance can be applied for.
Applications for certification can be submitted by providers of old-age provision and basic pension contracts and umbrella organizations of the providers named in Section 1 (2) of the German Old-age Provision Contracts Certification Act (AltZertG).
You submit your application for certification of the retirement provision or basic pension contract in writing to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
The certification body checks whether
- the application is submitted by a provider pursuant to Section 1 (2) or Section 2 (2) of the Retirement Provision Contracts Certification Act (AltZertG) or
- an umbrella organization of the providers named in Section 1 (2) and whether
- the sample contracts submitted meet the certification criteria.
Each contract sample eligible for certification receives a certificate with a certification number. The certification body does not check whether
- the product is economically viable
- the promises made by the supplier can be fulfilled, and
- the terms of the contract are valid under civil law.
Prerequisites
Applications for certification may be submitted by:
- Providers of old-age provision and basic pension contracts in accordance with Section 1 (2) and Section 2 (2) of the Retirement Provision Contracts Certification Act (AltZertG)
- Central associations of the providers named in Section 1 (2) of the AltZertG
Procedure
You must submit the application for certification in writing to the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt).
- Call up the certification application suitable for your purposes on the BZSt website. Also call up the attachment to the application for certification (checklist).
- Complete the application electronically, print it out and sign it. In the checklist, enter the data required for processing electronically and then print the document.
- Send the application and all documents by mail to the office of the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) in Berlin.
- After receiving your application, the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) will set the fee by written notice, which must be paid within one month of notification of the notice.
- The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) will examine your application. If your application does not meet the requirements, the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) will request missing information, documents or contract adjustments (supplementary notification) within 3 months. If your application still does not meet the requirements after the deadline, the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) will reject the application. If your application meets the requirements for certification, the Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) will grant certification by assigning a certification number for the sample contract. The Federal Central Tax Office (BZSt) will inform you by mail about the outcome of the examination.
Deadlines
- Payment of the fee: within one month after notification (§ 12 para. 2 sentence 2 AltZertG)
- Supplementary notification: within 3 months (cut-off period) after receipt of the supplementary request by the certification body (Section 4 (5) AltZertG)
Fees
The cost of processing an application to certify a retirement provision contract or a basic pension contract is EUR 5,000.
If an application is based on a certified application of an umbrella organization and the further requirements of Section 12 (1) sentence 2 of the Retirement Provision Contracts Certification Act (AltZertG) are met, the fee shall be EUR 500.00.
For applications submitted by an umbrella organization as an authorized representative of its member companies, the fee is EUR 250.00 per member willing to be certified.
For the addition of a loan option to a contract, if the contract was certified in accordance with the AltZertG in the version applicable on 31.12.2007, the fee is EUR 250.00.
Links to more information
Status:23.04.2023
Responsible for editing:Bundesministerium der Finanzen
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