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Guides · Retirement provision · ETFs · Taxes

Retirement provision doesn't have to be complicated. Here we explain the most important concepts around pensions, ETFs and taxes – clearly, honestly and without the jargon.

Markets & Psychology

Stock market crash: when prices suddenly fall

What happens in a stock market crash, how a crash, a correction and a bear market differ, and how investors can react calmly.

By Pensionflow · 14 July 2026 · 3 min
Retirement provision

Retirement provision doesn't end when you retire

How the wealth you've built up turns into a regular income in retirement – strategies for the withdrawal phase.

By Pensionflow · 14 June 2026 · 3 min
ETFs & Funds

Money market funds – when it's time for calm

What money market funds are, how they work and when they can be a sensible alternative to a current account.

By Pensionflow · 10 May 2026 · 3 min
Investing

Measuring performance properly: understanding return and risk

Return, volatility, Sharpe ratio, drawdown and CAGR explained – the key metrics for putting investments in context and understanding risk.

By Pensionflow · 10 April 2026 · 3 min
Investing

More calm in your portfolio: the role bonds play

Why bonds bring stability to a portfolio, what the risks are and how credit and interest rate risk affect the yield.

By Pensionflow · 9 February 2026 · 3 min
Retirement provision

Understanding the state pension

How the pay-as-you-go system works, how your pension amount results from pension points and why private provision is becoming ever more important.

By Pensionflow · 8 February 2026 · 3 min
Retirement provision

Three pillars for your pension

State, occupational and private provision: how the three-pillar model works and what private solutions are out there.

By Pensionflow · 26 January 2026 · 3 min
Real estate

Property: between home and investment

Real estate as an asset class: tangible value, stability, inflation protection and the role of borrowed capital in retirement provision.

By Pensionflow · 6 January 2026 · 3 min
Retirement provision

The pension gap: briefly explained

What the pension gap is, how it arises and how you can estimate what you need to save using the 80 percent rule of thumb.

By Pensionflow · 12 October 2025 · 3 min
Markets & Psychology

FOMO: why emotions are dangerous when investing

FOMO, loss aversion and herd behaviour often lead to bad decisions on the stock market – why discipline and a regular savings plan win out.

By Pensionflow · 10 September 2025 · 3 min
Investing

Bitcoin: here to stay

How Bitcoin and the blockchain work, what the opportunities and risks are - and what role it makes sense to give it as an addition to your retirement provision.

By Pensionflow · 5 September 2025 · 3 min
ETFs & Funds

MSCI World vs. world portfolio: what global really means

The MSCI World sounds worldwide, but only covers developed markets with a heavy US weighting – here's how to build a truly globally diversified ETF world portfolio.

By Pensionflow · 10 August 2025 · 3 min
Investing

How do I analyse a stock?

From the wider economy to the sector to the company itself: how to approach stock analysis in a structured way – and why ETFs are often the better option.

By Pensionflow · 1 July 2025 · 3 min
ETFs & Funds

World portfolio: why simple is often better

Clarity, returns and liquidity: why a low-cost ETF world portfolio makes sense for building wealth over the long term.

By Pensionflow · 8 June 2025 · 3 min
Retirement provision

ETF pension insurance vs. Riester, Rürup & classic pensions

The state pension isn't enough – but which solutions are best suited to secure retirement provision?

By Pensionflow · 5 April 2025 · 10 min
Basics

Diversification explained: the fine line between investing and gambling

Why broad diversification lowers risk without costing you returns - and how to build a world portfolio with just a few ETFs.

By Pensionflow · 1 April 2025 · 3 min
Retirement provision

The pension gap – what it means and how you can close it

The term “pension gap” keeps coming up in discussions about retirement provision. But what exactly does it mean?

By Pensionflow · 12 March 2025 · 11 min
Basics

The magic of compound interest – but no magic without patience and discipline

How compound interest makes wealth grow exponentially – and why it only unfolds its full power with patience and discipline.

By Pensionflow · 9 March 2025 · 3 min
ETFs & Funds

ETF pension insurance compared to an ETF savings plan

An ETF savings plan is a good choice for retirement provision – but ETF pension insurance offers decisive advantages. What are they?

By Pensionflow · 1 March 2025 · 11 min
ETFs & Funds

Retirement provision with ETFs – saving smartly for later life

Retirement provision with ETFs is a simple and low-cost way to start saving for later life early on. But why are they so well suited to it?

By Pensionflow · 16 February 2025 · 5 min
Retirement provision

The best retirement provision in 2026: what should it include?

Retirement provision often seems complex – but it doesn't have to be. The key features of good retirement provision.

By Pensionflow · 18 January 2025 · 9 min
Investing

Gold: in search of stable value

Why gold is historically seen as inflation protection, and why a positive real return and broad diversification are crucial for retirement provision.

By Pensionflow · 15 January 2025 · 3 min
ETFs & Funds

Equity ETFs: why your holding period is decisive

The longer your investment horizon, the lower the risk of loss with ETF savings plans – explained mathematically and historically.

By Pensionflow · 9 January 2025 · 3 min
Retirement provision

The pension gap – what it means and how you can close it

What is the pension gap, how big is it typically and how do you close it with ETF-based provision? Simply explained, with the maths.

By Pensionflow · 15 July 2026 · 5 min
Taxes

The 12/62 rule: how ETF pension insurance saves you tax

12 years' term, payout from 62: the 12/62 rule halves the tax on your ETF gains.

By Pensionflow · 15 July 2026 · 4 min
Retirement provision

Retirement provision account 2027: the new subsidised account explained simply

From 1 January 2027 the retirement provision account arrives as the successor to Riester: up to 540 € allowance per year, 300 € per child, up to 100 % ETF.

By Pensionflow · 15 July 2026 · 5 min