A zero-cost offer for the state pension depot
Trade Republic has entered the price war over the state-subsidised Altersvorsorgedepot, the old-age pension depot that replaces the Riester pension from 2027. The Berlin-based online broker announced its free variant on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, with no depot fees and no execution costs for savings plans. Product costs also fall away for several dozen popular ETFs from BlackRock, DWS and Vanguard, and according to the company, fund costs for more than 50 ETFs are dropped and reinvested monthly. Customers can choose a standard depot, where the broker preselects one fund with greater opportunity and one lower-risk fund, or a self-directed depot where they pick their own instruments. The state caps fees on the standard depot at 1%, while providers can set costs freely in the self-directed version.
How the subsidy and the Riester switch work
The Altersvorsorgedepot pays a state allowance of up to 540 euros a year, plus up to 300 euros per child. Eligible annual contributions range from 120 to 1,800 euros, and capital gains are not taxed during the saving phase. Savers with a Riester contract can switch to the new scheme and transfer their accumulated balance. Riester, launched more than 20 years ago, lost its early appeal amid high closing costs, bureaucratic hurdles and returns that often did not even offset inflation. Interested people can pre-register for the Trade Republic depot now, although it becomes usable only with the statutory start in January 2027. Until then, providers are undercutting one another on fees.
Trade Republic's position against rivals
Trade Republic reports more than 10 million customers in Europe, over 5 million of them in Germany, and more than 150 billion euros in customer assets. Co-founder Christian Hecker framed the product in national terms.
Germany is among the global leaders in state-subsidised private retirement provision with the new old-age pension depot.
Hecker explained the zero price as follows.
That is why we can offer it free of charge, and do so over the long term.
Trade Republic says it runs its own trading infrastructure and benefits from comparatively low purchasing costs, and Hecker stated that the free depot earns no money but also loses none. Its rival Scalable Capital announced a fee-free self-directed depot in the week of 5 October 2026, with fund costs for certain ETFs reinvested. Rivals advertise product-cost refunds for a limited period at first, while Trade Republic's offer is open-ended.
Awareness gap and market potential
Sirius Campus, a Cologne consulting and market research institute, and the financial services provider Aeiforia estimate the first wave of contracts in early 2027 at 2.9 million, a conservative estimate based on about 44 million eligible people. Hecker said the industry had clearly expected more awareness in advance, with 60% of Germans never having heard of the product. Hecker put it directly.
Most people in this country do not yet know the old-age pension depot.
Other surveys put awareness higher: Sirius Campus says about three quarters of the 44 million eligible people already know the new depot, but only about 29% of those are willing to sign a contract.
Short-term market potential for the financial industry therefore remains limited, and Trade Republic plans a large advertising campaign to close the knowledge gap.