## **Key terms**

This section is a glossary of the key terms used across the German pensions guides, ordered along the pension lifecycle: products and legal framework, the product information sheet, accounts and cash flow, the government bonus, transfers, and the payout phase.

### **People**

| **Term** | **Definition** |
|  --- | --- |
| **Client** | The business (bank/broker/fintech) integrating the Upvest API. |
| **End user** | The client's customer who holds the pension. |
| **Account manager** | Upvest contact supporting the client's proposition. |


### **General terms**

| **Term** | **Definition** |
|  --- | --- |
| **Altersvorsorgedepot** | The flexible German pension account introduced by the pension reform. |
| **Standarddepot** | The standardised, low-risk German pension account. Built on exactly two ETFs/funds with a 1.0% effective-cost cap. |
| **Frühstartrente** | Tax-advantaged pension account for children aged 6-18; €10/month state bonus; converts to an Altersvorsorgedepot or Standarddepot at 18. |
| **Riester** | The existing private pension product (*Riester-Rente*). Can be transferred into a new pension account. |
| **Pension account** | Umbrella term for an Altersvorsorgedepot or Standarddepot. Maximum two per user. |
| **Discretionarily managed Altersvorsorgedepot** | An Altersvorsorgedepot where the client manages a model or personalised portfolio on the user's behalf. |
| **Self-directed Altersvorsorgedepot** | An Altersvorsorgedepot where the user freely selects eligible instruments. |
| **AltZertG (*Altersvorsorgeverträge-Zertifizierungsgesetz*)** | Germany's certification act for pension accounts. |
| **Certification** | Regulatory approval of a pension product or provider under the AltZertG. |
| **ZfA (*Zentrale Zulagenstelle für Altersvermögen*)** | The central authority for pension bonuses. Also receives contract registrations and coordinates transfers. |
| **Key Information Document (*Basisinformationsblatt*, KID)** | The standardised, pre-contractual disclosure document required under the PRIIPs Regulation. Sets out a product's nature, risks, costs, and performance scenarios, including the 1-7 risk class used to determine eligibility. |


### **Product information sheet**

| **Term** | **Definition** |
|  --- | --- |
| **Product information sheet (*Produktinformationsblatt*)** | The mandatory pre-contractual document per end user: provider, product, risk indicator, performance scenarios, and costs. Must be available to user prior to onboarding. |
| **Product configuration** | The client-defined pension proposition: product metadata, provider information, fees, and instrument selection. Reused for all product information sheets of that proposition; any instrument change requires a new configuration. |
| **Dachfonds methodology** | The fund-of-funds approach used for the self-directed AVD risk indicator: five equally weighted reference funds at lowest, lower-quartile, median, upper-quartile, and highest volatility. |
| **Summary risk indicator (SRI)** | The standardised 1-7 risk score for the pension product, calculated by Upvest. |
| **Performance scenarios** | Projected values under stress, unfavourable, moderate, and favourable conditions for the first year, mid-term, and full term. |
| **Effective costs (*Effektivkosten*)** | The single, annualised cost figure, that captures the total costs, measured by a reduction in yield method, defined in § 2a AltZertG. |
| **Contract-level costs** | Fees charged by the client (AUM-based, absolute, one-off, transaction). |
| **Instrument-level costs** | Costs inside the instruments, such as the TER. |


### **Accounts, contributions and cash flow**

| **Term** | **Definition** |
|  --- | --- |
| **Contract number** | The identifier of the pension contract registered with the ZfA. Required for bonus applications. |
| **Pooling account** | The bank account receiving pension cash (contributions, bonuses, transfers). |
| **Reference account** | The end user's own bank account. |
| **Self-balancing orders** | Portfolio orders that direct new contributions and withdrawals toward the target allocation to reduce drift. |
| **Glide path** | The Standarddepot de-risking schedule before payout: 50/50 (5 years), 70/30 (2 years and payout). |


### **Government bonus**

| **Term** | **Definition** |
|  --- | --- |
| **Government bonus (*Zulagen*)** | Umbrella term for all state subsidies paid into a pension account (basic, child, young adult). Applied for annually via the provider to the ZfA. Applies at user level, not per account. |
| **Basic bonus** | Annual bonus of up to €540 (directly eligible) or €175 (indirectly eligible). Tiered: 50% of the first €360, 25% of €361-€1,800. Requires a contribution of at least €120. |
| **Child bonus** | Up to €300 per eligible child per year, paid to the parent receiving *Kindergeld* unless transferred by consent. |
| **Young adult bonus** | A one-off €200 for eligible 18-25-year-olds |
| **Directly eligible** | The user is in an eligible group (statutory pension, civil servant, self-employed, professional pension scheme, cross-border commuter). |
| **Indirectly eligible** | The user is not eligible themselves but has a directly eligible spouse. |
| **Bonus permission** | The user's authorisation for Upvest to apply for bonuses on their behalf, plus associated persons (spouse, children). |
| **Bonus application** | The annual application submission to the ZfA. |
| **Bonus ID** | The identifier assigned by the ZfA when a user has no social security number. |
| **Pension owner** | The user who holds the pension account and the main bonus applicant. |
| **Spouse** | The pension owner's partner included in the application, for eligibility or child-bonus transfer. |
| **Tax pots** | The record of contributions, bonuses, and tax treatment that accompanies a transfer and must reconcile with the cash received. |


### **Transfers**

| **Term** | **Definition** |
|  --- | --- |
| **Pension transfer** | A full cash transfer of a pension account (AVD, Standarddepot, or Riester) between providers or between accounts at the same provider, coordinated with the ZfA. |
| **Ceding provider (*Anbieternummer*)** | The provider the pension is transferred from. Also called transfer counterparty. |


### **Upvest entities and API concepts**

| **Term** | **Definition** | **API** |
|  --- | --- | --- |
| **Tax wrapper** | Upvest entity representing the entire pension contract (business rules, type, contract number, T&Cs, payout age). Created per pension account. | `/pension_de/wrappers`, `tax_wrapper_id`, `PENSION_DE_WRAPPER.*` |
| **Account group** | Container for the accounts of one pension; `type: PENSION_DE`. One per tax wrapper. | `/account_groups` |
| **Account** | Upvest investment account inside the account group; `TRADING` or `PORTFOLIO`. Used to separate investment strategies within the pension. | `/accounts` |
| **Contract number** | Identifier of the pension contract registered with the ZfA. Required for bonus applications. | `contract_number` |
| **Product configuration** | Client-defined pension proposition: product info, provider info, fees, instrument selection. Reused for all product information sheets of that proposition; new configuration on any instrument change. | `/pension_de/product_configurations`, `PENSION_DE_PRODUCT_CONFIGURATION.*` |
| **Product information sheet** | Mandatory pre-contractual document per end user: provider, product, SRI, performance scenarios, costs. Generated via `/reports`; linked to the tax wrapper. | *Produktinformationsblatt*; `PENSION_DE_PRODUCT_INFORMATION_SHEET`, `product_information_sheet_id` |
| **Instrument selection** | How instruments are represented in a product configuration: `ALLOCATION_BASED` (fixed weights) or `VOLATILITY_BASED` (five reference funds across volatility scenarios). | `instrument_selection.type` |
| **Dachfonds methodology** | Fund-of-funds approach used for self-directed AVD SRI: five equally weighted reference funds at lowest / lower quartile / median / upper quartile / highest volatility. | `volatility_scenario` |
| **Summary risk indicator** | Standardised 1–7 risk score for the pension product, calculated by Upvest. | SRI; `risk_indicator.sri` |
| **Performance scenarios** | Projected values under stress / unfavourable / moderate / favourable conditions for first year, mid-term and full term. | `performance_scenarios[]` |
| **Contract-level costs** | Fees charged by the client (AUM-based, absolute, one-off, transaction). Provided in the product configuration. | `fees[]` |
| **Instrument-level costs** | Costs inside the instruments (TER etc.). Sourced by Upvest. | — |
| **Allowance** | Per-tax-wrapper, per-tax-year contribution limit (€6,840). Tracks used/remaining amount; contributions exceeding it are rejected in full. Does not roll over. | `/pension_de/wrappers/{id}/allowances`, `PENSION_DE_WRAPPER_ALLOWANCE.*` |
| **Contribution** | New money paid into the pension by the user. Counts against the allowance. Distinct from transfers-in, bonus payments, distributions and sale proceeds. | — |
| **Post-trade settlement** | Cash setup where the client operates the pooling account and represents uninvested money via virtual cash; client must confirm cash receipts (transfers) and pay out to users. | — |
| **Pre-funding** | Cash setup where Upvest operates the pooling account; funding via SEPA Credit Funding or SEPA Direct Debit; Upvest pays out directly to the user's reference account. | — |
| **Virtual cash** | Post-trade concept representing uninvested cash. A virtual cash increase is treated as a contribution. | — |
| **Credit funding** | Pre-funding method where the user sends cash to their vIBAN; treated as a contribution. |  |
| **Direct debit** | Pre-funding instruction collecting cash from the user's bank account; treated as a contribution. | `/direct_debits` |
| **Pooling account** | Bank account receiving pension cash (contributions, bonuses, transfers). Client-operated in post-trade; Upvest-operated in pre-funding. | — |
| **Reference account** | The end user's own bank account used for payouts in pre-funding. | — |
| **Self-balancing orders** | Portfolio orders that direct new contributions/withdrawals toward the target allocation to reduce drift. | — |
| **Rebalance** | Sell/buy execution to bring positions to the target allocation. Mandated at 5 years, 2 years and payout date for Standarddepot. | `/portfolios/rebalancings/executions`, `REBALANCE_REQUIRED` |
| **Glide path** | The Standarddepot de-risking schedule before payout: 50/50 (5y), 70/30 (2y and payout). Achieved via self-balancing orders and/or mandated rebalances. | `GLIDE_PATH_APPROACHING` |


### **Transfers**

| **Term** | **Definition** | **API** |
|  --- | --- | --- |
| **Pension transfer** | Full cash transfer of a pension account (AVD, Standarddepot or Riester) between providers or between accounts at the same provider, coordinated with the ZfA. Partial transfers not allowed. | `/pension_de/transfers`, `PENSION_DE_TRANSFER.*` |
| **Transfer counterparty** | The ceding provider for incoming transfers. For incoming transfers, you must provide their provider number (*Anbieternummer*), the contract number (*Vertragsnummer*), and their certification number (*Zertifizierungsnummer*). | (`provider_number`) |
| **Tax pot history** | The record of contributions, bonuses and tax treatment that accompanies a transfer and must reconcile with the cash received. | `tax_pots_exchanged_at` |
| **Transfer stages** | Initiation → Discovery → Processing → Settled (statuses `NEW`, `DISCOVERY`, `PROCESSING`, `SETTLED`, `CANCELLED`). |  |
| **Transfer confirmation** | Post-trade-only step where the client confirms cash receipt so Upvest can reconcile and settle the transfer. | `POST /pension_de/transfers/{id}/confirmations/cash`, `PENSION_DE_TRANSFER_CONFIRMATIONS.*` |
| **Two-account limit** | Users may hold max two pension accounts (contracts concluded after 31.12.2026). Transfers are exempt so a new account can replace the old one. | — |
| **Home subsidy account** | Riester sub-account used for home-ownership subsidy; excluded from transfers. | *Wohnförderkonto* |
| **Pension equalisation** | Division of pension rights on divorce; affected accounts excluded from transfers. | *Versorgungsausgleich* |


### **Payout phase**

| **Term** | **Definition** | **API** |
|  --- | --- | --- |
| **Accumulation phase** | Period from contract start to payout start; contributions, bonuses and tax-free growth. | `payout_phase: NOT_STARTED` |
| **Payout phase** | Period from payout start date to contract end date; user receives lump sum and recurring payments. | `payout_phase: STARTED / CLOSED` |
| **Expected payout age** | Age (65–70) set on the tax wrapper at creation; seeds the payout start date. Not updatable after creation. | `expected_payout_age` |
| **Payout start date** | Date payout begins (≥ 65th birthday). Held on the payout configuration; updatable until payout starts. | `payout_start_date` |
| **Contract end date** | End of the payout plan (≥ 85th birthday); residual capital paid as final lump sum. | `contract_end_date` |
| **Payout configuration** | Upvest entity created at tax-wrapper activation holding payout start date, contract end date, lump-sum %, recurring cadence and phase status. | `/pension_de/wrappers/{id}/payout_configuration`, `PENSION_DE_PAYOUT_CONFIGURATION.*` |
| **Partial lump sum** | Optional one-off withdrawal of up to 30% of capital at payout start. | `pension_lump_sum.as_percentage` |
| **Payout plan** | The regulatory recurring-payment schedule (monthly by default, ≥ 80% of remaining capital ÷ months remaining, recalculated annually). | *Auszahlungsplan* |
| **Withdrawal plan** | Upvest's operational entity executing the payout plan (sell orders, payments). Has its own ID notified via webhook. | — |
| **Annual recalculation** | Yearly recomputation of the recurring payment on the anniversary of the payout start date. | — |
| **§7b report** | Statutory notification to the user before payout start (plan details, costs, commencement date). Generated on payout-config update within 12 months of payout, or automatically at 9 months. | `/reports` |