Widow's Pension / Survivor's Pension in Germany 2026: Eligibility, Amount, How to Apply

Documents and legal 12 min read Kinmory Team
Pension notice and widow's pension paperwork on a desk

Introduction

We understand that you are going through one of the most difficult periods of your life. When you lose your spouse or partner, grief takes precedence — and yet the pressing question of how to manage financially soon follows. When the income of the person who has died falls away, your own financial security can quickly come under strain. This is precisely where the widow's pension comes in, a central part of the statutory survivor's pension.

In this guide we explain calmly and step by step what you are entitled to: the difference between the small and the large widow's pension, the exact amount under old and new law, the full pension during the three-month grace period, the eligibility requirements and the current income allowance from July 2026. We also show you how to apply at the German pension insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) and which documents you will need.

In this article you will learn:

  • How much the small (25%) and the large widow's pension (55% or 60%) come to
  • Why the deceased's full pension is paid during the first three months
  • Who is eligible — and what role the length of the marriage and the age threshold play
  • How much of your own income remains exempt from July 2026
  • Which other survivor's pensions exist (orphan's pension, child-raising pension)
  • How to apply and which deadlines apply

Please remember: you do not need to rush these formalities, and you do not need to face them alone. The pension insurance advises you free of charge, and many families also choose to create a digital memorial during this time, to preserve memories in a protected place.

Table of Contents

The widow's pension 2026 at a glance

The widow's pension is a benefit paid by the statutory pension insurance to the surviving spouse or registered partner. Depending on your age and circumstances, it amounts to 25 per cent (the small widow's pension) or 55 to 60 per cent (the large widow's pension) of the pension the person who died was receiving, or would have received. One of the requirements is that the marriage must have lasted at least one year.

The term "survivor's pension" is the umbrella heading. Alongside the widow's and widower's pension, it covers the orphan's pension for children and the child-raising pension for divorced parents. All of these pensions are intended to cushion the financial loss caused by the death of an insured person.

Important to know: the pension is regulated uniformly across the country. The Social Code (SGB VI) applies — a federal law. Unlike the obligation to arrange a burial (Bestattungspflicht), which varies from one federal state to another, it makes no difference to the amount of the widow's pension whether you live in Bavaria, Saxony or Schleswig-Holstein. The former distinction between West and East has also been abolished for the allowances.

On 1 July 2026, pensions were increased by 4.24 per cent. This adjustment also applies to widow's and widower's pensions already in payment, so the monthly amount rises accordingly.

Small and large widow's pension: the differences

The most important difference lies in the age and circumstances of the surviving person. You receive the large widow's pension (55 or 60 per cent) if you have reached a certain age threshold, are raising a child, or have a reduced earning capacity. If these conditions are not met, you receive the small widow's pension (25 per cent), limited to 24 months under the new law.

The table below sets the two types of pension side by side:

Feature Small widow's pension Large widow's pension
Amount (new law) 25% of the insured pension 55% of the insured pension
Amount (old law) 25% 60% of the insured pension
Requirement No entitlement to the large widow's pension Age, child-raising or reduced earning capacity
Age threshold 2026 — 46 years and 6 months
Duration (new law) 24 months at most In principle, for life
Duration (old law) No time limit In principle, for life
Three-month grace period Full insured pension (3 months) Full insured pension (3 months)

The large widow's pension

You are entitled to the large widow's pension if at least one of the following conditions is met:

  • You have reached the relevant age threshold (2026: 46 years and 6 months),
  • You are raising your own child or a child of the deceased under the age of 18 (or a disabled child unable to support themselves), or
  • You yourself have a reduced earning capacity.

The large widow's pension is, in principle, paid until the end of your life — provided you do not remarry.

The small widow's pension

If you meet none of these conditions — that is, you are younger than the age threshold, are not raising a child and do not have a reduced earning capacity — you receive the small widow's pension. Under the new law it is paid for a maximum of 24 months. Under the old law (see the next section) it runs without a time limit.

Old and new law: 55% or 60%?

Whether your large widow's pension amounts to 55 or 60 per cent depends on whether the old or the new law applies. The old law (60 per cent) applies only if the marriage was entered into before 1 January 2002 and at least one of the partners was born before 2 January 1962. In all other cases, the new law with 55 per cent applies.

This cut-off rule regularly causes confusion, so here are the two scenarios set out clearly:

Old law — 60 per cent

The old law applies if both conditions are met:

  1. The marriage was entered into before 1 January 2002, and
  2. at least one of the spouses was born before 2 January 1962.

If both apply, the large widow's pension amounts to 60 per cent of the insured pension. There is a further difference: under the old law, child-raising periods are not credited in the same way, and the small widow's pension is paid without a time limit.

New law — 55 per cent

In all cases where the conditions above are not both met — that is, for younger couples or for marriages entered into from 2002 onwards — the new law applies. The large widow's pension then amounts to 55 per cent. In return, the new law contains improvements, such as a child supplement to the widow's pension for children who have been raised.

Practical note: you do not need to work out for yourself which law applies to your case. The German pension insurance carries out this classification automatically as part of processing your application. If in doubt, free pension advice can help.

The three-month grace period: full pension in the first three months

During the so-called three-month grace period (Sterbevierteljahr) — the first three calendar months after the month of death — you receive the widow's pension at the level of the deceased's full insured pension, that is 100 per cent rather than 55 or 60 per cent. During this time there is also no offsetting of your own income. This is intended to give you financial security in the first, already burdensome phase.

An example makes this clear: if the person who died received an old-age pension of 1,600 euros a month, you continue to receive 1,600 euros in the first three months. Only afterwards does the payment reduce to the regular percentage (around 55 per cent, so 880 euros), and your own income is taken into account under the offsetting rules.

Advance on the three-month grace period

So that you do not have to wait for the first pension payment, you can have the three-month grace period paid to you as an advance. You apply for this advance through the pension service of Deutsche Post or directly with the pension insurance. Many funeral directors also help with this step. In this way you can bridge the time until the regular pension notice arrives.

Eligibility requirements: who receives a widow's pension?

The surviving spouse or registered partner is entitled to a widow's pension if the marriage lasted at least one year and the person who died completed the general qualifying period of five years in the pension insurance. You yourself must not have been married again at the time of the death.

The key requirements in detail:

1. Marriage or registered civil partnership

Only spouses and registered civil partners are entitled. Unmarried partnerships — even long-standing ones — do not establish any entitlement to a widow's pension, regardless of how long the couple lived together.

2. Minimum marriage duration of one year (marriage of convenience)

The marriage must, as a rule, have lasted at least one year. If it was shorter, the pension insurance presumes a so-called marriage of convenience — that is, a marriage entered into primarily to secure provision for the partner. In this case the claim is initially rejected.

This presumption can, however, be rebutted. It falls away in particular if the death was unforeseeable, for example through:

  • an accident,
  • a sudden serious illness not known at the time of the marriage,
  • or other circumstances demonstrating that provision was not the main purpose of the marriage.

3. Qualifying period of the person who died

The person who died must have completed the general qualifying period of five years (60 months) in the statutory pension insurance. In the event of death through an industrial accident or in certain other circumstances, this qualifying period may be deemed met early.

4. No exclusion through your own remarriage

The entitlement exists only for as long as you do not remarry. The widow's pension ends with a new marriage or registered civil partnership (see the FAQ). As compensation, a one-off lump-sum pension settlement is paid.

Pension splitting as an alternative

For younger married couples whose partners married after 2001, or where both partners were born after 1 January 1962, there is the option of pension splitting between spouses. Under this, the pension entitlements acquired during the marriage are divided equally — similar to the equalisation of pension rights following a divorce. Whether splitting or the classic widow's pension is more advantageous depends on the individual case and should be clarified in an advice session.

Income offsetting and the allowance in 2026

After the three-month grace period, your own income is offset against the widow's pension, but only above an allowance. From 1 July 2026, this allowance is 1,122.53 euros net per month. For each child entitled to an orphan's pension, it rises by 238.11 euros. Income above the threshold is offset at 40 per cent.

This means: if you earn less than the allowance, your widow's pension is not reduced. If your offsettable net income is above it, only the portion exceeding the allowance — and even that only at 40 per cent — reduces your pension. So you keep the greater part of every additional euro you earn.

The table below shows the current figures:

Figure Until 30 June 2026 From 1 July 2026
Basic allowance (net/month) €1,076.86 €1,122.53
Supplement per child entitled to an orphan's pension €228.42 €238.11
Offsetting rate above the allowance 40% 40%
Scope uniform across Germany uniform across Germany
Offsetting during the three-month grace period none none

Source: German pension insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung), values valid from 1 July 2026. The allowance is adjusted annually on 1 July in line with pension developments.

Which income is offset?

The following are offset in particular:

  • Earned income (wages, income from self-employment),
  • Income replacing earnings (such as sickness or unemployment benefit, or a pension of your own),
  • certain investment income (under the new law, e.g. income from capital and rent).

Gross income is not used in full. From the gross figure, the pension insurance calculates a flat-rate net income, set at different levels depending on the type of income. Only this flat-rate net figure is then compared against the allowance.

Worked example

Suppose your flat-rate net income is 1,500 euros a month and you have no child entitled to an orphan's pension:

  1. Offsettable income: 1,500 € − 1,122.53 € (allowance) = 377.47 €
  2. Of this, 40 per cent is offset: 377.47 € × 0.40 = 150.99 €
  3. Your widow's pension is therefore reduced by roughly 151 euros a month.

If your net income is below 1,122.53 euros, no reduction is made at all.

Other survivor's pensions: orphan's pension and child-raising pension

Alongside the widow's and widower's pension, the statutory pension insurance recognises two further survivor's pensions: the orphan's pension for children of deceased insured persons, and the child-raising pension for divorced parents. Both are likewise applied for at the German pension insurance and supplement the family's financial security.

Orphan's pension

Children who have lost one parent receive a half-orphan's pension; if both parents have died, a full-orphan's pension. The orphan's pension is paid until the age of 18 — and beyond that up to a maximum age of 27, if the child is in training, higher education or a voluntary service. Income allowances also apply to the orphan's pension, although the orphan's own income is only offset to a limited extent.

Child-raising pension

The child-raising pension is a special case: it is aimed at divorced people whose former spouse has died and who are raising a child of their own. Unlike the widow's pension, it is calculated from your own pension account, not that of the person who died. One of the requirements is that you have not remarried and that you meet the general qualifying period yourself.

How to apply for the widow's pension

The widow's pension is not paid automatically — you have to apply for it at the German pension insurance. The application can be made online, in writing or in person. Submit it within twelve months of the death so that the pension is paid retroactively from the month of death. For later applications, payment is backdated by twelve months at most.

Step 1 — Submit the application

You have three ways to submit the application:

  • Online: through the online services of the German pension insurance, with secure access.
  • In writing: using the official forms (form R0500 for pensions in the event of death), which you can download or have sent to you.
  • In person: at an advice and information centre of the pension insurance; the advisers there help you complete the forms free of charge.

The insurance offices of towns and municipalities, as well as many funeral directors, also help with the application.

Step 2 — Gather your documents

For the application you will usually need the following documents:

  • Death certificate of the person who died (more on this in our guide to the death certificate),
  • Marriage certificate or certificate of the registered civil partnership,
  • Pension insurance numbers of both spouses,
  • your identity card or passport,
  • your bank details (IBAN),
  • for children: birth certificates of the children entitled to an orphan's pension,
  • where applicable, proof of income (for the income offsetting),
  • for a short marriage: evidence rebutting a marriage of convenience (e.g. medical certificates, accident reports).

Step 3 — Advance and ongoing payment

Also apply for the advance on the three-month grace period through the pension service of Deutsche Post, to bridge the time until the notice arrives. Once your claim has been assessed, you receive the pension notice, which sets out the amount, start date and any income offsetting. The pension is then transferred monthly.

Many families also use the time spent on formalities to gather and preserve memories. A digital memorial page can help bring together photographs, key life dates and stories in one place that remains accessible to all family members.

While you deal with the formalities — remember the memories too. A digital memorial on Kinmory preserves photographs, a life story and memories for all family members, accessible at any time. Find out more on Kinmory

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the widow's pension in 2026?

The large widow's pension is 55 per cent of the deceased's pension under the new law, and 60 per cent under the old law. The small widow's pension is 25 per cent. During the first three months after the death (the three-month grace period, or Sterbevierteljahr), you receive the deceased's full pension with no reduction whatsoever. After that, your own income above the allowance is taken into account.

What is the widow's pension income allowance from July 2026?

From 1 July 2026, the monthly net income allowance is 1,122.53 euros, up from 1,076.86 euros previously. For each child entitled to an orphan's pension, the allowance rises by 238.11 euros. Income above this threshold is offset against the widow's pension at 40 per cent. The allowance applies uniformly across Germany.

How long must you have been married to receive a widow's pension?

The marriage or registered civil partnership must, as a rule, have lasted at least one year. If it was shorter, the pension insurance presumes a so-called marriage of convenience and initially rejects the claim. This presumption falls away if the death was unforeseeable — for example, through an accident or a sudden illness.

Does the widow's pension end on remarriage?

Yes. Both the small and the large widow's pension end at the close of the month in which you remarry. As compensation, the pension insurance pays a one-off lump-sum settlement equal to 24 monthly pensions. A later divorce of the new marriage can, under certain conditions, allow the widow's pension to be revived.

Where do I apply for the widow's pension?

You apply for the widow's pension at the German pension insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) — online through its online services, in writing by post, or in person at an advice and information centre. Submit the application within twelve months of the death so that the pension is paid retroactively from the month of death. If you apply later, payment is backdated by twelve months at most.

Summary

  • Small widow's pension: 25 per cent of the insured pension; limited to a maximum of 24 months under the new law, without a time limit under the old law.
  • Large widow's pension: 55 per cent (new law) or 60 per cent (old law) — on reaching the age threshold, raising a child or having a reduced earning capacity.
  • Old law (60%) applies only if the marriage was entered into before 1 January 2002 and at least one partner was born before 2 January 1962.
  • Age threshold 2026: 46 years and 6 months; it rises in stages to 47 years by 2029.
  • Three-month grace period: the full insured pension in the first three months, with no income offsetting.
  • Marriage duration: at least one year, otherwise a marriage of convenience is presumed (rebuttable in the case of an unforeseeable death).
  • Allowance from 1 July 2026: 1,122.53 euros net, plus 238.11 euros per child; income above this is offset at 40 per cent — uniformly across Germany.
  • Remarriage ends the pension; as compensation there is a settlement of 24 monthly pensions.
  • Application to the German pension insurance; submit within twelve months, then payment from the month of death.

Note: this article is for general information and does not replace individual pension advice. The details are current as of 16 July 2026. Allowances and age thresholds are adjusted annually. For your personal situation, please contact the German pension insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) or a recognised pension adviser.

Sources

Preserve the memory of a loved one

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widow's pension Germany survivor's pension pension insurance bereavement