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Is the German widow's pension enough to protect the family?

In short

Is the German widow's pension enough to protect the family? Usually not. The large widow's pension (große Witwenrente) is 55 percent of the deceased's pension, and your own net income above EUR 1,122.53 a month reduces it by 40 percent of the excess. Half orphans get 10 percent plus a supplement. Families with children often lose more than half of the previous income.

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What it costs

Monthly premiums for term life insurance in Germany from published tariff examples and tests, office jobs.

Example	Typical range
Age 30, non-smoker, EUR 200,000, 25 year term	about EUR 7.59 to 15.35 a month
Age 35, EUR 250,000, 30 year term	from about EUR 20, expensive tariffs almost three times as much
Age 40, non-smoker, EUR 350,000, 25 year term	about EUR 33.00 to 42.90 a month
Age 35, smoker, EUR 500,000, 30 year term	about EUR 30.53 to 49.78 a month

Tariff examples as of July 2024, test result as published,

pension values as of 1 July 2026 with a current pension value of EUR 42.52.

Your premium depends on age, health, job and smoking; we obtain the exact quote for you.

Worked example

Family with two children, main earner dies in 2026

He dies at 40. His pension statement shows EUR 1,600 for full reduced earning capacity, and he earned EUR 2,900 net. She earns EUR 3,000 gross, the children are 6 and 9.

Large widow's pension, 55 percent of EUR 1,600	EUR 880.00
Her countable income, EUR 3,000 minus 40 percent	EUR 1,800.00
Allowance with two children, 1,122.53 plus 2 × 238.11	EUR 1,598.75
Reduction, 40 percent of EUR 201.25	EUR 80.50
Widow's pension after offset	EUR 799.50
Two half orphan's pensions, at least EUR 160 each	at least EUR 320.00
Gap to the previous net income of EUR 2,900	about EUR 1,780 a month

Until the younger child turns 18 that is twelve years at about EUR 1,780, so roughly EUR 256,000. Add an outstanding mortgage. Term life cover of EUR 250,000 plus the remaining loan closes this gap.

Who gets a widow's pension

Spouses and registered civil partners qualify if the deceased paid into the German statutory pension for at least five years, the marriage lasted at least one year and you have not remarried. Unmarried partners get no widow's pension, no matter how long you lived together.

You receive the large widow's pension if you are raising a child under 18, cannot work because of reduced earning capacity or have reached the age threshold. For a death in 2026 that threshold is 46 years and 6 months, from 2029 it is 47. Otherwise only the small widow's pension remains, and it ends after two years.

Pension	Share of the deceased's pension	Duration
First three months (Sterbevierteljahr)	100 percent	three months after the month of death
Large widow's pension	55 percent	unlimited, until remarriage
Large widow's pension, old rules	60 percent	married before 2002 and one partner born before 2 January 1962
Small widow's pension	25 percent	at most 24 months
Half orphan's pension	10 percent plus supplement	until 18, in education until 27 at the latest
Full orphan's pension	20 percent plus supplement	until 18, in education until 27 at the latest

Which pension the 55 percent is based on

If someone dies before retirement, the basis is the pension they would have received for full reduced earning capacity. The pension insurance adds a so-called attributable period, as if the deceased had kept paying in, for a death in 2026 up to the age of 66 years and 3 months. The figure appears in the annual pension statement (Renteninformation) as the pension for full reduced earning capacity.

If the deceased already drew an old-age pension, no extra period is added and the pension actually paid counts. The amounts are gross; health and long-term care contributions are still deducted. If either of you worked in Germany only for a few years, the German pension and therefore the widow's pension will be small.

How your own income reduces the widow's pension

Your own income is not counted gross. For wages the pension insurance deducts a flat 40 percent and compares the rest with the allowance, which is EUR 1,122.53 a month from 1 July 2026, plus EUR 238.11 for every child receiving an orphan's pension. 40 percent of the amount above that is taken off the widow's pension.

Nothing is offset in the first three months, and orphan's pensions are never reduced. So if you earn well yourself, you receive clearly less than 55 percent. Couples who agreed to split their pension entitlements (Rentensplitting) lose the widow's pension altogether.

Where the gap appears and how to close it

The gap is the difference between the deceased's previous net income and the survivors' pensions. It is largest while the children are small and the mortgage is running, and just then the surviving partner can often work less rather than more.

Term life insurance (Risikolebensversicherung) closes this gap with a lump sum. Multiply the monthly gap by the years until the children are independent, add outstanding loans and subtract existing savings. A company survivor's pension comes on top if your pension scheme includes one.

Step by step

Look up the pension for full reduced earning capacity of both partners in the pension statement.
Take 55 percent of it as widow's pension and 10 percent per child as half orphan's pension.
Deduct the flat rate from your own income, compare it with the allowance and subtract 40 percent of the excess.
Subtract the pensions from the previous net income.
Multiply the gap by the years until the children are independent and add your loans.
Take out term life cover for that amount, ideally for both partners.

Checklist

Pension statements of both partners at hand
At least five years of contributions by the deceased
Married or in a registered partnership, otherwise no widow's pension
Offset of your own income included
Remaining balance of all loans written down
Company survivor's pension checked

Common mistakes

Counting on 55 percent and forgetting the offset of your own income
Relying on a widow's pension as an unmarried couple
Using the old-age pension from the statement instead of the reduced earning capacity pension
Planning firmly with the orphan's pension beyond age 18
Insuring only the main earner although the other partner also earns and looks after the children

Questions and answers

Frequently asked

How high is the widow's pension on average?

An average figure helps little, because entitlements and own income vary widely.

Take 55 percent of the reduced earning capacity pension from your statement and subtract the

offset.

Is my salary offset against the widow's pension?

Yes, after a flat deduction of 40 percent.

Whatever is left above the allowance of EUR 1,122.53 plus EUR 238.11 per child reduces the pension

by 40 percent.

Is a life insurance payout offset against the widow's pension?

No.

The payout is not part of the income that § 97 SGB VI takes into account.

Only interest or returns from it can count as income from assets.

Is there a widow's pension without being married?

No.

Without marriage or a registered partnership there is no widow's pension.

Unmarried couples need private cover all the more.

What happens to the widow's pension if I remarry?

The entitlement ends with the new marriage.

So do not plan your family's protection as if it depended on the widow's pension for life.

Can I get the small widow's pension for longer than two years?

Under current law only if the old rules apply:

married before 2002 and one partner born before 2 January 1962.

Otherwise it ends after 24 months.

Sources

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