Large or Small Widow's Pension — What You Are Entitled To
More than a few percentage points separate the large from the small widow's pension. It is the difference between 55 and 25 percent, between a permanent benefit and two years of transitional help. Which one you receive depends on three clearly defined conditions — and on an age threshold that shifts every year.
Three doors to the large widow's pension
You qualify for the large widow's pension if at least one of these applies: you are raising your own child or a child of the deceased partner who has not yet turned 18; you have a reduced earning capacity in the sense of pension law; or you have reached the relevant age threshold. One door is enough — someone raising a ten-year-old receives the large widow's pension at 34. For disabled children unable to support themselves the age limit of 18 does not apply, and foster and step-children living in the household count too.
The age threshold moves every year
Until 2011 the threshold was 45. Since 2012 it has been rising in steps towards 47, and the decisive factor is the year in which the partner dies. A death in 2023 meant 46 years, 2024 meant 46 years and 2 months, 2025 meant 46 years and 4 months. In 2026 the threshold stands at 46 years and 6 months, in 2027 at 46 years and 8 months. From a death in 2029 onwards the full 47 years apply.
These steps are unforgiving: six weeks too young and you initially receive only the small widow's pension. The claim to the large pension does arise again later, once you pass the threshold — and that is true regardless of whether the small pension has already run out in the meantime.
What the small widow's pension provides
The small widow's pension is 25 percent of the deceased's pension and runs for at most 24 calendar months after the end of the month of death. On a pension of €1,600 that is €400 gross, or roughly €351 net after health and care insurance. Across the 21 months at the reduced rate that adds up to about €7,360 net — designed as a bridge, not as lasting security.
The grace quarter at 100 percent comes first here too, and it already counts towards the 24 months. Months one to three pay the full pension of roughly €1,402 net, month four onwards pays the 25 percent, and payment ends once the twenty-fourth month has elapsed. Taken together that is a little over €11,500 net across the two years.
The special case: marriages before 2002
If the marriage was concluded before 1 January 2002 and at least one partner was born before 2 January 1962, the older set of rules applies. The pension type factor for the large widow's pension is then 0.6 rather than 0.55, and the small widow's pension is open-ended. On a starting pension of €1,600 that means €960 instead of €880 gross per month.
In exchange, the older rules include no child-rearing supplement. For two children each cared for over three years, that supplement is worth roughly €128 a month under the current rules — more than the €80 gap between 55 and 60 percent. Which variant works out better for you is shown by the Widow's Pension Calculator when you flip the pre-2002 switch.
Moving up is possible
The move from the small to the large widow's pension does not happen by itself. As soon as you reach the age threshold, a reduced earning capacity is established, or a child under 18 joins your household, you should assert the claim actively. The twelve-month retroactivity limit applies here too — apply too late and the earlier months are gone for good.
A worked comparison of two situations
A 44-year-old survivor with no minor children receives, on a partner's pension of €1,800, three months at €1,800 gross and then €450 gross — roughly €14,850 in total, after which payment stops once the twenty-fourth month has elapsed. A 52-year-old survivor gets the same three months at €1,800 but then €990 gross permanently: about €26,190 over the same period. Every further year adds €11,880 for her, while the younger survivor receives nothing more.
The difference is large enough that checking the conditions is always worth the effort. Run your own figures through the Widow's Pension Calculator — the results are a non-binding orientation, and the German pension insurance decides the binding amount.