English-speaking individuals in Germany
Two systems, two countries, one point of contact
Insurance and protection, health, retirement, investments, estate planning. I handle all of it for internationals settled in Germany, without ignoring what you left behind elsewhere.
The usual sticking point is always the same: your German advisor doesn’t know your original contracts, and the advisor back home doesn’t know the German system. No one looks at the whole picture, and you end up caught between two incomplete opinions.
Order of operations
Where to start depends on where you are
The question I’m asked first is almost always about investing. Yet that’s never where to start, and the order changes depending on your situation.
Recommended order · Recent arrival
Scope
Handled together, never apart
Every decision affects another. Your PKV status changes the retirement calculation, your marital property regime changes estate tax, your arrival date changes rights accrued abroad. That’s why I don’t work product by product.
01
Insurance and protection
What protects income and assets against a single, sudden event.
- Personal liability (Privathaftpflicht)
- Health, PKV vs GKV
- Income protection (Berufsunfähigkeit)
- Life cover and family protection
- Home and legal protection
02
Retirement
Three German pillars, plus whatever you’ve already contributed elsewhere, which doesn’t disappear.
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung and career statement
- Company pension (betriebliche Altersvorsorge)
- Basis-Rente or Rürup, depending on tax treatment
- Contribution periods kept from abroad
- Coordination of rights between systems
03
Investments
What happens to the savings that remain, once protection is in place and liquidity is planned.
- Portfolio construction and optimization
- Abgeltungsteuer and Freistellungsauftrag
- Foreign life insurance policies, kept or not
- Foreign income and Anlage AUS
- Indirect real estate
04
Estate planning
The subject no one opens on their own, and the one that costs the most when opened too late.
- Double tax treaties
- German and home-country allowances
- Marital property regime and cross-border effects
- Gifts and timing
- Will, and which law applies
I don’t provide tax or legal advice in the regulatory sense. On those topics I work with your Steuerberater or notary, and I prepare the financial part of the file.
Straight talk
Five things no one explains to you when you arrive
| Moving to private health insurance | The PKV or GKV choice is made early in your German career and is very hard to undo afterward. The comparison you’re shown covers this year. The real question is retirement, your spouse, and your children. |
| Income protection | Germany’s statutory pension barely covers occupational disability anymore. It’s best taken out while you’re young and healthy, or it becomes expensive, restricted, sometimes impossible. |
| Contracts left back home | A life insurance policy kept from abroad carries consequences once you’re a German resident. It often still makes sense, but its treatment changes, and no one tells you that upfront. |
| Savings sitting in a current account | A safety cushion is necessary. Beyond that, leaving a large balance in a current account is a decision made by default, with a cost that appears on no statement. |
| Cross-border estate planning | German and home-country allowances are nothing alike, and the country of residence at the time of death changes everything. This is a subject to address ten years in advance. |
The question to ask any advisor
Who the person advising you actually works for
There’s nothing dishonorable about being a tied agent, and many take the role seriously. But the structure isn’t the same, and it’s public. You can check it before the first meeting.
| Broker (Versicherungsmakler) · my status | Tied agent (gebundener Vertreter) | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal basis | § 34d para. 1 GewO | § 34d para. 7 GewO |
| Mandate | Mandated by the client | Represents its principal |
| Accessible offer | The whole market | The house range |
| Liability | Toward the client, with a documented duty to advise | Carried by the mandating company |
| Verification | Public intermediary register kept by the DIHK, searchable by name at vermittlerregister.info | |
Before you contact me
Frequently asked questions
How much does the first conversation cost?
Nothing. Thirty minutes, no obligation and no proposal at the end. If your situation doesn’t justify any action, I tell you at that point.
How are you paid?
Depending on the case, either by commission from the chosen provider, or by fee under a service agreement. You know which applies, and how it’s calculated, before the recommendation, not after.
I don’t speak German. Is that a problem?
No. Advice is given in English. I translate the German documents that matter and explain what you’re signing, line by line if needed.
I’m not based in Frankfurt. Is that possible?
Yes. I work with clients across Germany. Most meetings happen by video call, and nothing requires travel.
I already have an advisor back home. Do I need to choose?
No, and that’s often the right setup. I handle the German side and the consistency between the two. What’s usually missing isn’t another advisor, it’s someone looking at both sides at once.
What if I leave Germany in three years?
Then it changes the decisions, and it needs to be raised at the first conversation. Some long commitments make no sense on a short horizon. A likely departure is an input, not a footnote.
Required disclosure
The information presented on this page is general and informative in nature. It does not constitute personalized investment advice, nor tax or legal advice. Any investment in financial instruments carries risk, including the risk of capital loss. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. More about my background is available on the About page.
Let’s talk about your situation
Thirty minutes is enough to know if there’s something to look at.