Even with relatively small amounts, you can build up a solid financial cushion for old age. If you get started early enough and save consistently, you can accumulate assets with monthly installments starting at 89 euros until you retire, which is enough for an additional payout of 1,000 euros per month. This emerges from current calculations by the comparison portal Verivox.

This is how much wealth is needed for an extra 1,000 euros in pension

Around 246,374 euros You have to save up until the start of your pension in order to receive an additional pension of 1,000 euros per month 25 years can be financed. In the calculation, the capital from the start of retirement is invested in comparatively safe forms of investment such as daily and fixed-term deposits with an interest rate of two percent redeployed. In this way, the capital is protected from price fluctuations and can be reliably planned throughout the entire payout phase.

For the savings phase, however, the model relies on one ETF savings planto build assets efficiently. Verivox expected a constant annual return of 7.5 percent. This roughly corresponds to the historical average return of the MSCI World stock index, adjusted for market-standard ETF costs.

The duration of the payout phase is deliberately calculated generously in the model calculation: the money should last until the age of 92. For comparison: The statistical life expectancy of men aged 25 to 55 today is 79 to 81 years, and for women it is around 84 to 85 years.

Save young, benefit when you get older

“The earlier investors start saving, the more time they have until retirement – ​​and the more the return on ETF investments works in their favor,” says Oliver Maier, Managing Director of Verivox Finanzvergleich GmbH. “Anyone who prepares financially for the future at a young age can use the power of returns and compound interest to build up enough wealth relatively easily to be able to retire later with good financial security.”

A comparison of different age groups shows how great the effect of an early start is: 55-year-olds only have around twelve years until their regular pension. In order to achieve the goal of a lifelong supplementary pension, they would have to monthly 1151 euros pay into the savings plan so that there is enough capital left after taxes when the ETF shares are sold. Such sums are difficult for most people to afford.

With each decade that is started earlier, the necessary monthly expenditure decreases significantly. 45 year old come with a monthly savings benefit of 426 euros in order to build up the assets required for the payout plan by the time you retire. Who already with 35 years If you get in, you just have to 189 euros per month invest in an ETF savings plan.

The time advantage has a particularly strong impact 25 year olds: A savings rate of is sufficient for them 89 euros monthly. They pay in total over the years 44,856 euros one, the majority of the later capital arises from the return. For comparison: 55-year-olds have to pay a total of 165,744 euros raise almost four times as much out of their own pockets.

Inflation: Plan for loss of purchasing power during the savings phase

A monthly additional pension of 1,000 euros sounds like a comfortable cushion for old age. However, over longer periods of time, inflation reduces the real value of money. The further into the future the start of retirement is, the less such a sum corresponds to today’s purchasing power.

“As a rule, not only do prices rise over the years, but so does your own income,” says Oliver Maier. “In order to take into account inflation-related losses in the value of money during the savings phase, investors should also increase their monthly savings amounts accordingly after salary increases or good collective bargaining agreements. This means that losses in purchasing power can be offset very effectively through higher prices.”

Stock market fluctuations: What the sample calculation hides

In the model calculation, the ETF values ​​increase year after year with a constant return. In reality, stock market prices do not go up in a straight line. It is impossible to predict how the markets will develop in the coming decades – temporary setbacks and significant price losses are possible at any time. However, if you invest for the long term and don’t have to sell your securities in a crisis, you can usually ride out price fluctuations.

“So far, stock market prices have always recovered even after the most severe setbacks and reached new highs in the following years,” explains Oliver Maier. “Our calculations show, based on a realistic return, how investors can lay the foundation for a retirement without financial worries with manageable savings amounts.”

Methodology of calculation

During the savings phase, all the money flows into an accumulating ETF savings plan, for which an effective annual return of 7.5 percent is assumed. When you retire, all ETF shares are sold. The monthly savings rates are calculated so that the net proceeds after taxes are sufficient to finance a 25-year payout period – assuming that the capital is invested in retirement at a secure interest rate of two percent.