Question 1

How high is the widow's pension in 2026?

Accepted Answer

For the first three calendar months after the month of death — the grace quarter — you receive your late spouse's or partner's full pension, that is 100 percent. From the fourth month it drops to 55 percent for the large widow's pension and 25 percent for the small one. If your partner received €1,600, that is €1,600 gross at first and then €880 with the large widow's pension. For marriages concluded before 2002 in which one partner was born before 2 January 1962, 60 percent applies instead of 55.

Question 2

What is the difference between the large and small widow's pension?

Accepted Answer

The large widow's pension is 55 percent of the deceased's pension and is paid without a time limit. It requires that you are raising a child under 18, have a reduced earning capacity, or have reached the age threshold — for a death in 2026 that is 46 years and 6 months. Anyone who meets none of these conditions receives the small widow's pension at 25 percent, for at most 24 calendar months. Once you later reach the age threshold or become unable to work, you can move to the large widow's pension.

Question 3

How much can I earn alongside the widow's pension?

Accepted Answer

Since 1 July 2026 the monthly allowance is €1,122.53 — 26.4 times the current pension value of €42.52. Each child eligible for an orphan's pension adds €238.11. What counts is not your gross income but a flat-rate net figure: 40 percent is deducted from employment income, only 14 percent from your own state pension. A gross salary of around €1,870 therefore stays entirely free of offsetting. Only the amount above that is offset at 40 percent against the widow's pension.

Question 4

What exactly is the grace quarter?

Accepted Answer

The grace quarter covers the three calendar months following the month of death. During this time the widow's pension is calculated with a pension type factor of 1.0, so you receive the deceased's full pension. Your own income is not offset at all in those three months, because offsetting under § 97 SGB VI only starts once the factor falls below 1.0. The idea is to cushion the transition period, when funeral costs, estate matters and ongoing fixed costs all arrive at once.

Question 5

By when do I have to apply for the widow's pension?

Accepted Answer

The pension is not paid automatically; you have to apply. If you apply within twelve calendar months of the month of death, it is paid retroactively from the date of death. After that it only starts in the month of application — lost months cannot be recovered. For the grace quarter you can additionally request an advance, usually paid within a few days. You will need the death certificate, the marriage certificate and both partners' insurance numbers, among other documents.

Question 6

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

Accepted Answer

Remarriage ends the claim at the end of the month of the wedding. You can then apply for a one-off settlement worth 24 times the last monthly widow's pension. If the new marriage is later divorced or annulled, a revived pension from the first marriage can arise — though the settlement is then offset against it. Report the marriage promptly in any case, otherwise repayment demands can follow.

Question 7

Do I have to pay tax and contributions on the widow's pension?

Accepted Answer

Yes, in both cases. The pension insurance withholds health and care insurance contributions from the gross widow's pension: 7.3 percent health insurance plus half your fund's additional contribution — on average 1.45 percent in 2026 — and 3.6 percent care insurance, or 4.2 percent for childless people aged 23 and over. For tax purposes the widow's pension counts as other income; the portion above your personal pension allowance is taxable. Whether tax is actually due depends on your total income.

Question 8

How accurate is this widow's pension calculator?

Accepted Answer

The calculator reproduces the statutory rules of SGB VI: the pension type factors from §§ 67 and 255, the 24-month limit on the small pension from § 46, the child-rearing supplement from § 78a, the allowance and the 40 percent offsetting from § 97, and the flat deductions from § 18b SGB IV. It is based on the current pension value of €42.52 from 1 July 2026. What the calculator cannot know is your individual contribution record: deductions, imputed periods, pension splitting or an equalisation from an earlier marriage can shift the result noticeably. Treat the result as orientation — only the pension insurance's official notice is binding.

Guide: Widow's Pension Calculator

Calculating the Widow's Pension in 2026: Amount, Conditions, Offsetting

Large or Small Widow's Pension — What You Are Entitled To

The Grace Quarter: The First Three Months

Income Offsetting: How Much of Your Income Is Deducted

Orphan's Pension: What Children Are Entitled To

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