Am I the only one who feels a bit skeptical about this topic?
•
66
•@Ned-Flanders No, not at all, I think. I'm extremely skeptical because, at the end of the day, you're naturally giving up any flexibility and you never know how tax laws, progressive tax rates, etc., will change by the time you start receiving your pension. Purely from a return perspective (assuming you get at least close to the average market return), it’s actually a no-brainer in almost all scenarios.
•
33
•Yeah, I wasn't trying to question the math at all.
I just mean—without wanting to get into a political debate here (I consider myself a centrist and am not a die-hard fan of any particular party or anything)—that whenever I hear the words “government” and “pension system” in the same sentence, my brain kind of shuts down a little.
I mean, there are negative examples.
I just mean—without wanting to get into a political debate here (I consider myself a centrist and am not a die-hard fan of any particular party or anything)—that whenever I hear the words “government” and “pension system” in the same sentence, my brain kind of shuts down a little.
I mean, there are negative examples.
•
33
•@Get_Rich_or_Die_Tryin You yourself write that you give up all flexibility, commit to a contract for sometimes decades, and end up pulling out prematurely—which actually hurts your returns. So it’s not a no-brainer, because the risk is completely different from that of a traditional ETF savings plan.
•
33
•@Ned-Flanders No, there are many who are rightly skeptical about this (lack of flexibility, future tax changes, etc.).
The fact that the AVD adds a few (thousand) euros to your income is undisputed in most cases. But you just won’t be able to access it until age 65 (or however long they want us to work in the future).
The fact that the AVD adds a few (thousand) euros to your income is undisputed in most cases. But you just won’t be able to access it until age 65 (or however long they want us to work in the future).
•
33
•@Ned-Flanders Definitely more than just a cautionary tale. That’s why, personally, I’ll be exploring other options.
I’ll probably contribute the maximum amount to claim the full tax credit (i.e., the €1,800 per year, to use it as an additional return booster) and keep everything else in my own investment account as before. Honestly, the €150 a month doesn’t hurt, and there’s still enough capital left to generously fund my “own” portfolio.👍🏻
I’ll probably contribute the maximum amount to claim the full tax credit (i.e., the €1,800 per year, to use it as an additional return booster) and keep everything else in my own investment account as before. Honestly, the €150 a month doesn’t hurt, and there’s still enough capital left to generously fund my “own” portfolio.👍🏻
•
22
•@Ned-Flanders I understand the skepticism. For me, too, it’s the commitment that’s holding me back, not the return. That’s why I’m only investing the 25 euros with the child benefit—the benefit is so great that it’s worth it to me. The rest stays in my regular brokerage account.
•
22
•@FairValue By the way, that's also the case with your mandatory contributions to the statutory pension insurance. 😅🤷🏼♂️
•
11
•@Psychedelic_Sunflower Yeah, I think it's a really tough decision. How are you going to handle it?
•
11
•@Get_Rich_or_Die_Tryin Yeah, I'd uncheck it too if I could 😆
•
11
•