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What does a company pension really cost you?

Converting €200 of gross salary does not cost you €200. Tax and social contributions would have taken part of it anyway, and your employer adds a subsidy on top. Here is the actual net figure.

✓ Free, no sign-up✓ Official 2026 figures✓ Nothing is stored
€
€

%

15 % is the legal minimum where the employer saves social contributions. Many pay more — ask before you sign.

%

What it really costs you

€0/ month

Goes into your pensionyour conversion plus the employer subsidy–
Your net pay falls by–
Tax you no longer pay–
Social contributions you no longer pay–
Every €1 of net pay buys–
Net cost / year
–
Into the pension / year
–
Employer adds
–
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Whether salary conversion is the right route depends on your employer's scheme, its charges and how long you plan to stay in Germany.

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How this is calculated
  • The method: we calculate your net pay twice — once on your full salary, once on your salary reduced by the conversion — using the official 2026 income tax tariff (§ 32a EStG) and the 2026 social contribution rates. The difference is what the conversion actually costs you.
  • The limits: in 2026, up to €8,112 a year is free of income tax and up to €4,056 free of social contributions — 8 % and 4 % of the pension contribution ceiling. Above the social contribution limit the saving is smaller, and the calculator accounts for that.
  • The employer subsidy is a legal minimum of 15 % on converted amounts where the employer saves social contributions. Many employers pay considerably more, which changes the arithmetic substantially — it is the first thing to ask about.
  • What happens later: company pension payments are taxed in full in retirement and carry health and care contributions. In 2026 the first €197.75 a month is free of health contributions; for care insurance the same figure is a threshold rather than an allowance, so exceeding it makes the whole payment liable. This is deferred taxation, not avoided taxation — usually still worthwhile, because most people's rate in retirement is lower.
  • Not modelled: the product's own charges, the return it earns, a reduced state pension resulting from lower contributions, and any employer scheme that differs from standard salary conversion.

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