Five things about money that almost everyone believes.

Only up to €100,000.

Up to €100,000 per customer, per bank, you have a legal claim. Above that, only voluntary promises from the banks. In September 2026, Volksbank Brawo had to be supported with up to €723 million.

BaFin€100,000 Statutory right to compensation per person, per bank. Several accounts at the same bank are added together (§ 8 EinSiG)BaFin · As of 2026View source ↗BVRvoluntary Above €100,000, deposits at Volksbanks and Raiffeisenbanks are covered by the protection scheme of the German cooperative banks (BVR), a voluntary system run by the banks. A legal entitlement exists only up to €100,000 per customer, per bank.BVR, Information zur Einlagensicherung · As of 30.06.2026View source ↗Börsen-Zeitungup to €723 million Support for Volksbank Brawo (Braunschweig/Wolfsburg) from the protection scheme of the German cooperative banks: €473 million in guarantees and up to €250 million in capital. The largest known case at a cooperative bank.Börsen-Zeitung · As of 15.09.2026View source ↗

Wrong.

The number stays the same, the value does not. Inflation stood at 2.9% in August 2026, and instant-access savings pay 1.95% on average. Since 2001 the euro has lost 37% of its purchasing power.

Statistisches Bundesamt2.9% Inflation rate in Germany in August 2026 compared with August 2025, energy +10.5%Statistisches Bundesamt · As of 10.09.2026View source ↗tagesgeldvergleich.net1.95% Average interest rate on instant-access savings across all banks comparedtagesgeldvergleich.net, Marktanalyse · As of 01.08.2026View source ↗Statistisches Bundesamt−37% Loss of the euro's purchasing power from 2001 to 2025 (consumer price index 77.0 → 121.9)Statistisches Bundesamt, Verbraucherpreisindex · As of 2025View source ↗

Not always.

If a life insurer is permanently unable to meet its obligations, BaFin, Germany's financial regulator, may stop payments for a time and reduce benefits, with no fixed limit (§ 314 of the German Insurance Supervision Act, VAG). Even when the protection fund takes over, cuts of up to 5% are allowed. In 2025, around 320,000 policies at Element Insurance came to an end.

Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz§ 314 VAG If a life insurer is permanently unable to meet its obligations, the supervisor can temporarily ban payments, including surrenders and policy loans, and reduce benefits in line with the insurer's assets. The law sets no fixed upper limit for the cut.Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz · As of 2026View source ↗Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetzup to 5% Cut to guaranteed benefits, even when the protection fund Protektor takes over (§ 222(5) VAG)Versicherungsaufsichtsgesetz · As of 2026View source ↗Verbraucherzentrale / BaFin≈ 320,000 policies of the insolvent Element Insurance AG. Insurance cover ended on 01.04.2025.Verbraucherzentrale / BaFin · As of 02/2025View source ↗

Half true.

None is planned. But the Basic Law, Germany's constitution, still allows one-off wealth levies today. In 1952 it was half of a person's taxable wealth, and in June 2026 the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) demanded a new one: 10% on private net wealth from €10 million. A demand, not a law.

dpa-Faktencheckno law A new Lastenausgleich has neither been passed nor planneddpa-Faktencheck · As of 2022View source ↗GrundgesetzArt. 106 GG The revenue from “one-off wealth levies” goes to the federal government. The article does not introduce a levy itself; that would take a separate law.Grundgesetz · As of 2026View source ↗Deutscher Bundestag50% Wealth levy under § 31 of the 1952 Lastenausgleich Act: half of the taxable wealth after the allowance, payable in instalments over up to 30 years, usually out of incomeDeutscher Bundestag, Wissenschaftliche Dienste WD 4 - 3000 - 057/23 · As of 2023View source ↗DGB10% Demand by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) in June 2026: a one-off levy on private net wealth from €10 million, payable over 20 years (a demand, not a law)DGB · As of 08.06.2026View source ↗

Often not.

The tax-free allowance of €400,000 per child has stood unchanged since 2009. In real terms it is worth only ≈ €279,000 today, while property has become more expensive. On 12 and 13 October 2026 the Federal Constitutional Court hears the case.

Erbschaftsteuergesetz€400,000 Tax-free allowance for each child, from each parent. Spouse €500,000, grandchildren €200,000, siblings and everyone else €20,000 (§ 16 ErbStG)Erbschaftsteuergesetz · As of 2026View source ↗Statistisches Bundesamt≈ €279,000 What a child's €400,000 tax-free allowance is still worth today, measured in 2009 pricesStatistisches Bundesamt, Verbraucherpreisindex; eigene Berechnung · As of 07/2026View source ↗KPMG12./13.10.2026 The Federal Constitutional Court in Karlsruhe hears the inheritance tax case: on 12.10. on tax-free allowances, tax rates and property valuation (brought by Bavaria), on 13.10. on tax relief for business assetsKPMG, nach Bundesverfassungsgericht · As of 08/2026View source ↗