Why a 20-year difference costs 705 euros

Two people, same amount of savings, completely different pensions. One will be poor in old age, the other rich. The only difference is when they started.

In a recent study by Infratest-dimap, 41 percent of households surveyed did not want to know what their future pension would be. You can guess that the answer is painful. Simple math shows that when it comes to retirement provision, the timing is more important than the amount.

The mentor wisdom: Time is irretrievable

Frank Rahlf, co-founder and CEO of DARIA, still remembers the words of his mentor: "Frank, if they steal your wallet - no problem. If they steal your car - no problem. You can earn new money, you can buy a new car. But if someone steals your time, that's an irretrievable sin."

This insight still shapes Rahlf's approach at DARIA today. The long-standing entrepreneur knows that time is not just money - time is everything when it comes to the financial future.

You know that feeling when you realize you're running late? For an appointment, for a flight, for an important decision? It's the same with retirement planning - but with one crucial difference: you don't get a second chance.

The drama of German old-age provision is not just the low interest rates or the shaky state pension. The real drama lies in a paradox that almost nobody understands:

Those who have time cannot invest. Those who can invest no longer have time.

Those who could start at the age of 20, 25 or 30 often have neither the money nor the conviction to do so. "I'm young, I want to live", or: "I'd rather spend the little money I have."

Anyone who finally has the money and the insight at 55 or 60 lacks the most important thing: time.

100 euros, two lives

Let me tell you a story. A story of two people, both saving 100 euros a month. The only difference: the age at which they start.

Scenario A: The 55-year-old late starter

Hans is 55 and realizes: "My pension won't be enough." He makes a decision and starts putting aside 100 euros a month. At 5% interest, the following happens:

• 10 years to save until retirement
• 12,000 euros paid in
• Final result: 15,000 euros
• Interest: 3,000 euros
• Additional monthly pension: 125 euros

125 euros more per month. After 10 years of disciplined saving. This is the brutal reality for all those who start too late.

Scenario B: The 35-year-old early starter

Maria is 35 and puts aside the same 100 euros a month. Same interest rate, same discipline:

• 30 years to save until retirement
• 36,000 euros paid in
• Final result: 100,000 euros
• Interest: 64,000 euros
• Additional monthly pension: 830 euros

830 euros more per month. From the same monthly amount. The only difference: started 20 years earlier.

The result: 705 euro difference per month in old age. For life.

When your money has children

Einstein called it the "eighth wonder of the world" - the compound interest effect. But what exactly happens there?

Imagine your money has children. And these children have children again. In the case of Maria from our example, it looks like this:

• Year 1: 1,200 euros paid in, 60 euros interest
• Year 10: 12,000 euros paid in, 3,800 euros interest
• Year 20: 24,000 euros paid in, 17,000 euros interest
• Year 30: 36,000 euros paid in, 64,000 euros interest

The interest has taken on a life of its own. They work for Maria while she sleeps. That is the power of time.

And now it gets really interesting: What if Maria had received a return of 10 percent instead of 5%? What if she had been a DARIA-M

member would have invested in Cape Coral?

The 36,000 euros paid in would become 658,000 euros.

That's the difference between a savings account and a real investment. That's the difference between "surviving" and "living" in old age.

The German pension system drama

But why is all this so important? Why is the state pension no longer enough?

The answer lies in simple math that anyone can understand:

1910: 16 workers financed 1 pensioner. The system worked perfectly.

2024: 2 workers have to finance 1 pensioner. The system is shaky.

2040: 1 worker is supposed to finance 1 pensioner. The system is collapsing.

Imagine you had to support a pensioner on your own. If they need 2,000 euros to live on - and that is already very little today - you would have to pay 2,000 euros a month into the pension fund. On an average wage? Impossible.

The numbers are fixed. The people have already been born. We can't retroactively give birth to four-year-olds to save the system.

An example from history: the women who rebuilt Germany after the war receive an average pension of 600 euros today. A state that treats these women who rebuilt Germany in this way will certainly not save the next generation.

The psychology of repression

A survey by Infratest-dimap confronted 2000 households with the question: Would you like to know how much your future pension will be?

41 percent answered: NO.

41 percent don't want to know. They suspect that the truth will hurt. They hope the problem will pass them by.

But displacement is not a strategy. It is the sure path to poverty in old age.

There is a Point of no return in old-age provision. It is around 15 to 20 years before retirement. Anyone who has missed it can no longer solve their pension problem by traditional means.

The most expensive set in Germany? If I had once...

Why Cape Coral also works for 55-year-olds

Does that mean everyone over 45 is doomed? No. But they need solutions other than a savings account.

At DARIA, we have developed a system that can save even late starters:

The co-ownership model in Cape Coral, Florida.

But it is more than just returns:

• Genuine property: You are in the land register of a US property
• Lifestyle investment: You can use your villa for several weeks a year depending on your investment level
• Increase in value: Cape Coral has been growing steadily for 50 years
• Tax advantages: Optimization between Germany and the USA
• Community: A network of like-minded people

The highlight: while traditional retirement planning takes 30 to 40 years, our system can deliver life-changing results in 10 to 15 years. Even for 55-year-olds.

What we owe our children

The tragedy is that our children leave school without any financial knowledge. They don't know how a bank transfer works, let alone how to build up assets.

But they would have the best chances. An 18-year-old who invests 100 euros a month with a return of 10 percent will have over a million euros by the time he is 65.

One million euros paid in from 56,400 euros.

That is the power of time. This is the gift we can give our children: Financial education.

At DARIA, we are therefore planning special educational programs for the next generation. After all, what good is a prosperous community if our children make the same mistakes we did?

Act instead of hope: Your next steps

You now have three options:

1. Displacement: Like 41 percent of Germans. Hope that someone will solve the problem for you.
2. Save traditionally: With current interest rates and inflation, this is a sure path to poverty in old age.
3. Rethink: Real investments with real returns. Real estate instead of savings accounts. Cape Coral instead of Germany.

The decision is up to you. But remember: every day you wait is more expensive.

Time is the one thing you can't buy back. But you can start using it properly today.

Time is running out. For all of us. But it's not running out - it's running away from us.

The only question is: are you still chasing after her or are you catching up with her?

Exclusively for DARIA members: The whole truth

This article is based on excerpts from an exclusive member training session by DARIA founder Frank Rahlf. In these weekly educational sessions, our members gain deeper insights into financial strategies, market developments and concrete implementation steps.