Surviving dependents pension

The German pension insurance pays, under certain conditions, pensions on account of the member’s death. These pensions are the:

widow’s and widower’s pension,
orphan’s pension,
child-raising pension.

Widow’s and widower’s pension

The widow’s and widower’s pension is intended to protect the surviving dependents against poverty and to maintain, as far as possible, their former living standard, if they have no or only short periods of own employment. There is a minimum- and a maximum widow’s pension.

Widows and widowers who are able to contribute to their own upkeep to a considerable degree are entitled to the minimum widow’s pension.

Widows and widowers who are not able to contribute to their own upkeep are entitled to the maximum widow’s pension.

The minimum or maximum widow’s or widower’s pension is paid under the following conditions:

The widow or widower must

raise a child not yet of age,
be at least 47 years old, or
have a reduced earning capacity.

Own income of the widow or widower is partly subtracted from the widow’s or widower’s pension, with an allowance (for supplementary income) that increases annually.

Orphan’s pension

Orphans are entitled to an orphan’s pension after the death of their father or mother, if the deceased parent has completed the general qualifying period of five years. If one parent has died there is an entitlement to a half-orphan’s pension; if both parents have died to a full-orphan’s pension.

Entitlement to an orphan’s pension lasts until the orphan reaches the age of 18. Orphans who are in primary or secondary education or in vocational training or prevented to provide for their own upkeep due to disability, receive orphan’s pensions up to the age of 27.

Child-raising pension

Members of the pension insurance are entitled to a child-raising pension, if their divorce was granted after 30 June 1977 and the divorced spouse has died,

they raise their own child or a child of the divorced spouse,
they have not remarried, and
they have completed the general qualifying period.

For further questions please contact the pension insurance fund Knappschaft-Bahn-See (Phone 0800 1000 48080 - in Germany free of charge).