For an ETF savings plan a broker like Scalable Capital fits; compare terms on Check24 too. The rule is simple: broad index, automation, decades without panic. Boredom is the feature: continuity and low costs make the result, not timing the entry.
Saving: ETF as the Alternative
For many without children and on a normal income a simple ETF savings plan on a world index is the most flexible and cheapest route: low costs, access to your money, clear mechanics without an insurance middleman.
✓ Verified: 18/07/2026
WHAT TO DO
› Details and tips
👨🏻💻
Max recommends:
I set up a world-index plan and forgot it: it runs automatically, in a crisis I touch nothing. Over years the cost gap versus an expensive insurance annuity is like a second small plan.
👩🏼💼
Lea recommends:
Set the 1000 € exemption order in the broker right away: otherwise tax is withheld from the first dividend, to be reclaimed later via the return. Five minutes at account opening.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Is an ETF safer than an insurance annuity? ▾
Not safer but more transparent and cheaper: no middleman commission, money accessible, clear mechanics. In return no guarantee or subsidies — you bear market swings, which over decades has historically paid off.
What does it cost? ▾
A good index ETF takes ~0.2% a year, the savings plan is often free. Against 1.5–2% of many insurance products that is tens of thousands in your favour over the distance.
What about ETF taxes? ▾
Gains face 25% flat tax, but 1000 € a year is free via the saver allowance (file an exemption order). The annual advance lump sum is a small prepaid tax the broker withholds automatically.