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What our simulations show — and what remains uncertain.

The calculators illustrate mathematical scenarios under your chosen assumptions. They are not forecasts, provider promises or individual investment, tax or legal advice. A constant model return does not capture actual market fluctuations, crises, changing interest rates or the sequence of returns. Past returns do not guarantee future results.

The retirement scenario keeps contributions, returns, the cost rate and model allowances constant throughout. It calculates nominal values before tax and does not automatically account for inflation, personal eligibility, the duration of child allowances or future changes in support or legislation. The cost slider represents a simplified annual reduction in return, not a full assessment of a specific offer. Additional tax refunds and the young saver bonus are excluded. Contributions and allowances enter at the start of each model month; actual allowance payments may arrive later. The annual factor after costs is converted geometrically into twelve monthly factors. The model assumes direct eligibility and does not separately calculate support for indirectly eligible spouses.

The allowance buffer compares your contributions plus invested allowances after an assumed loss with your own contributions. This simple comparison excludes earlier investment gains, costs, taxes, inflation and payment timing. Nominal break-even therefore does not preserve purchasing power or represent a guaranteed or unrestricted payout. The recovery simulation includes the entered costs and inflation but no allowances, taxes or withdrawals.

None of the calculators models political decisions, economic conditions, product changes, acquisitions or new contractual terms as future events. Explore several scenarios and review the actual product documents before basing a decision on a model value.

Why retirement calculators produce different results.

A meaningful comparison requires identical assumptions: 37 years of saving, €150 of monthly personal contributions, no child allowances, and a 6% annual return before total costs of 0.3 percentage points. This gives €66,600 of personal contributions and €19,980 of model allowances. Additional tax refunds are not reinvested. The values below are nominal accumulated balances before tax on withdrawals, not net pensions.

Independently reproduced: The Finanzfluss and finanzen.net values can be reproduced exactly with the same annual return and payments when their respective year-end or year-start payment conventions are used. Differences are therefore not evidence of a calculation error. For Finanztip, we read the displayed account value; we do not claim to have fully reproduced its calculation logic.

RMR previously divided the annual return by twelve. At 5.7%, this produced an effective model annual return of about 5.85%. The corrected geometric conversion reduces the standard example from €296,940 to €286,702. The formula beside the calculator shows the change.

Check these inputs before comparing results

• Time horizon: Age today or when saving starts? Does the calculator start from 2027? Birth years in the test were chosen so that each calculator showed 37 years.
• Returns and costs: Is the return before or after ETF costs? Are account costs additional or included in total costs? Do not deduct the same costs twice.
• Payment timing: Monthly or annually, at the beginning or end? Are allowances added immediately, later or only as a modelling assumption?
• Allowances and taxes: Consider basic allowances, the duration of child allowances and the young saver bonus separately. Count a tax refund on top of allowances only to the extent that the tax benefit exceeds those allowances. Gross salary and taxable income are different inputs.
• Result type: Do not confuse an account value before tax, total wealth including separate refunds, a net pension and today's purchasing power. For withdrawal models, also assess duration, taxes, potential social insurance contributions and investment performance in retirement.

External calculators may change their methods. Consult their linked methodology notes and your actual product documents. This table records a shared model example, not a provider ranking.

Your checklist for a long-term commitment.

Use the tick boxes during your current review. Save supporting documents separately and revisit these points when prices, products or contract terms change.

Effective costs: more than the ETF fee.

What matters for a decision is the impact of all costs on final wealth. Start by collecting every item, its timing and calculation basis. Percentage charges on account value, fixed annual fees and execution charges have different effects. Avoid double counting, for example if fund management is already included in ongoing fund costs.

This is an illustrative annual cost ratio, not a provider offer or a full effective-cost calculation. It excludes spreads, further transaction costs, one-off setup charges and later exit costs. The average account value is an assumption; fixed fees weigh more heavily on smaller balances.

For the full horizon, compare two cash-flow models with identical contributions and gross returns: one without costs, and one with every cost at its respective payment date. Compare final wealth and annualised returns; the difference in returns shows the cost impact in percentage points a year. Also use the specific product's disclosed reduction in yield or effective costs, and check which product and service charges it covers.

The retirement calculator can use an annual cost assumption derived from those documents as a simplified scenario. It does not separately reproduce fixed fees, changing prices or one-off costs. Returns already net of fund costs must not have those same costs deducted again.

A brand is not a promise for decades.

The first generation of online brokers shows how provider structures change: in 2002, BNP Paribas announced its acquisition of Consors and its combination with Cortal. This is a specific example of consolidation at the time, not evidence that a current provider will fail.

The useful question is not only whether a brand will still exist in ten years, but how custody, support and transfers would work through a change. For ordinary investment funds, fund assets are legally separate from the fund manager's assets. Securities in a customer account and cash in a settlement account have different protections. These do not protect against market losses or eliminate delays and administrative work during a wind-down. Product type, contract structure and applicable law matter.

Historical primary source: BNP Paribas on the 2002 Consors acquisition

Further reading

• Consumer centres: choosing ETFs, costs and fund mergers
• Consumer centres: ETF risks and separation of assets
• BaFin: investment funds
• Consumer centres: limits on changes to terms and conditions
• Consumer centres: ordinary securities accounts and transfers

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