Death pension
In the German statutory pension system, pensions due to death are the widow's and widower's pension (hereinafter referred to as widow's pension ) and the half or full orphan 's pension, as well as the education pension . They are called pensions because of death because the prerequisite for their granting is the death of the insured spouse or parent or the death of the divorced spouse of an insured person. Death is the insured event here . The pensions due to death are intended to replace the maintenance that the deceased has provided so far (maintenance replacement function). While widow's and orphan's pensions are pensions from the insurance of the deceased, the education pension is a pension from the insurance of the surviving person.
Registered life partners are treated the same as spouses in terms of survivors' benefits.
Widows 'and widowers' pensions
The survivor's pension for widowers is intended to replace the maintenance that the deceased spouse can no longer provide after his death. The surviving widower receives either the small widow's pension, ie a pension of 25% of the actual old-age pension for two years (in the case of old cases without a time limit) or the calculated pension for full disability at the time of death of the deceased. Or the surviving widower receives the large widow's pension, ie a pension of 55% (in old cases 60%) of the actual old-age pension or the calculated pension due to full disability at the time of death of the deceased. Criteria for classification in the large widow's pension are e.g. B. a certain age of the surviving widower, raising a child or disability. Regardless of whether the surviving widower receives a small widow's pension or a large widow's pension - in the first three calendar months after the death of the spouse, he receives 100% of the deceased's actual or calculated pension, this is the so-called quarter of the death .
In many cases, the survivor's pension helps ensure that retirees with a short or no work history do not fall below the poverty line.
If the survivor has his or her own income, 40% of the lump-sum net income is offset against the survivor's pension, provided it exceeds a certain allowance.
If the surviving dependents remarry, their survivor's pension is waived, which is settled with up to 24 monthly pensions in accordance with Section 107 SBG VI. If the second spouse dies or the second marriage is divorced, the pension can be paid again by the first spouse from the month following death or from the date on which the divorce judgment becomes final. A severance payment will be taken into account if the new marriage lasted less than 24 months.
In the case of marriages that did not last at least one year, the survivor only has a claim under Section 46 (2) a SGB VI if the particular circumstances of the case justify the assumption that it is not the sole or predominant purpose of the marriage had been to justify a claim to survivors' benefits (so-called provision marriage ).
Historical development
Since 1986 men and women have been given equal survivor pensions. Previously, widowers were only entitled to a survivor's pension if the family was largely supported by the deceased wife. The underlying idea was that the wife would not be employed during the marriage. With equality, the legislature complied with an order of the Federal Constitutional Court from 1975.
The reform of August 3, 1986 at the same time imputed the survivors' own income to the survivor's pension. Income accounting was expanded with the 2001 pension reform. Since 2002, the small widow's pension has been limited to 24 months and is generally dependent on a minimum marriage duration of one year (see: Pension marriage ). The changes meant that for all those affected by the new regulation, the old age security through the survivor's pension was in fact reformed to a basic security pension. In return, the possibility of rent splitting was introduced.
The widow's pension has repeatedly been put up for discussion in Germany. For example, it was considered that it might only be paid in cases of need. However, various amendments have not yet found a large majority.
Small widow's pension
The small widow's pension is paid to widowers and widows whom the state expects to make a larger contribution to their maintenance. Your backup goal is therefore lower. According to Section 46 (1) SGB VI - simplified - it amounts to 25% of the paid or calculated pension due to full disability of the deceased insured person in the pension entitlement phase or the old-age pension paid at the time of death in the pension phase and is linked to the requirements that the deceased spouse has fulfilled the general waiting period of 5 years. The entitlement exists for a maximum of 24 calendar months after the end of the month in which the insured person died.
According to Section 242a (1) SGB VI, the small widow's pension can be claimed without restriction to 24 calendar months if the spouse died before January 1, 2002 or if at least one spouse was born before January 2, 1962 and the marriage took place before was closed on January 1, 2002 (so-called old case).
Large widow's pension
If the surviving dependents meet the requirements for the small widow's pension in addition to one of the following requirements, they can claim the large widow's pension. According to Section 46 (2), the survivor must
- bring up their own child or a child of their deceased spouse who has not yet reached the age of 18 (if they care for a disabled child in the same household, there is no age limit for the child) or
- be incapacitated or
- have reached the age of 45. According to Section 242a (5) SGB VI, this age limit will gradually increase from 45 to 47 from 2012 depending on the year of death of the insured person. For deaths after 2029, the age of 47 applies.
The large widow's pension is 55% (previous case: 60%) of the paid or calculated pension due to full disability of the deceased insured person in the pension entitlement phase or the old-age pension paid at the time of death in the retirement phase. In contrast to the small widow's pension, the duration of which is limited to a maximum of two years, the duration of the large widow's pension is not limited.
The small widow's pension does not have to be drawn beforehand, and earlier drawing of the small widow’s pension does not preclude entitlement to the large widow’s pension.
According to Section 115, Paragraph 3, Sentence 2, SGB VI, the pension insurance institution is obliged to pay the large widow's / widower's pension as soon as the relevant age limit (45-47) is reached by the beneficiary and a small widow's / widower's pension is drawn up to the relevant age limit . If, however, the small widow's / widower's pension is no longer paid because it has already been drawn for 24 months, the large widow's / widower's pension must be applied for again as soon as the relevant age limit is reached. In these cases, the pension insurance agency does not act ex officio.
Pension deduction
If the insured person dies before his / her 65th birthday, the widow's / widower's pension is reduced by a discount of 0.3 percent for each month that the pension begins before the 65th birthday; however a maximum of 10.8 percent ( Section 77 (2) No. 4 SGB VI). The deductions affect all pensions due to death, including the small and large widow's pension.
The age limit of 65 years applies if the insured person begins to retire or dies after December 31, 2023. In the event of death / retirement before January 1, 2024, depending on the year and month of death, the following age instead of the 65th birthday applies, before this, deductions of 0.3 percent per month (maximum 10.8 percent) are calculated (see § 264d SGB VI):
| Start of pension or death of the insured person | Age for a survivor's pension without deduction | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| year | month | year | month |
| before 2012 | 63 | 0 | |
| 2012 | January | 63 | 1 |
| 2012 | February | 63 | 2 |
| 2012 | March | 63 | 3 |
| 2012 | April | 63 | 4th |
| 2012 | May | 63 | 5 |
| 2012 | June - December | 63 | 6th |
| 2013 | 63 | 7th | |
| 2014 | 63 | 8th | |
| 2015 | 63 | 9 | |
| 2016 | 63 | 10 | |
| 2017 | 63 | 11 | |
| 2018 | 64 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 64 | 2 | |
| 2020 | 64 | 4th | |
| 2021 | 64 | 6th | |
| 2022 | 64 | 8th | |
| 2023 | 64 | 10 | |
Child allowance
If the surviving spouse raised a child in its first three years of life, the widow's pension is increased by a child allowance after the quarter of the death. The child allowance was created to compensate for the lower level of the widow's pension in new cases, so that it is not granted in old cases that are not affected by it.
The child allowance is calculated in accordance with Section 78a (1) SGB VI by crediting a certain number of personal earnings points for each month of the upbringing period. If the child is raised for 36 months, the surcharge on the large widow's pension is € 58.41 per month (West) or € 54.09 (East) (as of July 1, 2015). Half of it for each additional child. With the small widow's pension, the surcharge for the first child is € 29.21 and € 27.05 respectively.
Death pensions to surviving registered partner
In Germany's statutory pension scheme, same-sex life partners registered under the Civil Partnership Act were also included in the survivors' pension with effect from January 1, 2005 . Since then, surviving life partners have also been entitled to a survivor's pension under Section 46 (4) SGB VI. The same applies to the child-raising pension ( Section 47 (4) SGB VI).
According to a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court , marriages and registered civil partnerships are to be treated equally in the company survivors' pension for public service employees according to the statutes of the Federal and State Pension Fund (VBL). According to a ruling by the Federal Court of Justice , marriages and registered civil partnerships are to be treated equally in private survivors' benefits.
Pension based on the penultimate spouse or registered partner
A widow's pension that has ceased to exist due to the survivor's remarriage is revived in accordance with Section 46 (3) SGB VI if the new relationship is divorced or the new spouse or partner dies. In accordance with Section 90 (1) SGB VI, claims to support, maintenance or pensions after the last partner are fully offset against the widow's pension after the penultimate spouse or partner . There is no allowance in this respect.
Orphan's pension
The orphan's pension is (very simply) 10% to 20% of the pension of the deceased insured for half orphans and 20% to 40% of the pension of the deceased insured with the higher pension for full orphans.
Income allowance
40% of the (flat-rate monthly) net income of the surviving dependents, which exceeds the exemption specified below, is offset against widow's and child-raising pensions ( Section 97 SGB VI). Until June 30, 2015, income from the age of 18 was also credited to orphan's pensions .
Credit-free
No income will be credited until the end of the third calendar month after the end of the month in which the insured person died.
No income will be credited if the insured person died before January 1, 1986 or if the spouses had validly declared to the pension insurance by December 31, 1988 that the survivors' law should continue to apply to them until December 31, 1985 ( Section 314 SGB VI).
Allowance
The exemption is 26.4 times the current pension value . The respective exemption is increased by 5.6 times the current pension value for each child of the pensioner who is entitled to an orphan's pension (or would have, if it were a child of the deceased) .
When the income is offset against orphan's pensions , the exemption was 17.6 times the current pension value. Since July 1, 2015, there is no longer any income deduction for orphan's pensions.
Reason for the income deduction
The offsetting of the surviving dependents' income against the pension due to death serves to implement the maintenance replacement concept of the pension. It is assumed here that if the income is sufficiently high, the death pension is no longer required or is no longer required in full. In addition to the offsetting of earnings, income replacement and property income according to § 97 SGB VI, in order to avoid unjustified double benefits , according to § 93 SGB VI, a survivor's pension from the statutory accident insurance is also credited.
According to a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court, the crediting of income is compatible with the constitution.
Types of income to consider
According to Section 18a SGB IV, the following are taken into account when calculating income :
- Earned income,
- Earnings replacement income ,
- Property income and
- Parental allowance.
Earned income
Income from work is remuneration , income from work and comparable income.
In this sense, parts of the wages and salaries that are used through conversion of up to 4 percent of the contribution assessment limit in the general pension insurance for company pension schemes, as well as the wages that a caregiver receives from the person in need of care, if the wage corresponds to the scope of the care activity, do not count as earned income in this sense Care allowance within the meaning of Section 37 of Book Eleven does not exceed.
Labor income is the positive sum of gains or losses from the following types of labor income:
- Profits from agriculture and forestry (§§ 13, 13a and 14 Income Tax Act (EStG)),
- Profits from commercial operations (§§ 15, 16 and 17 EStG) and
- Profits from independent work (§ 18 EStG).
Replacement income
Labor replacement income are
- Sickness benefit, injury benefit, pension benefit, maternity benefit, transition allowance, short-time allowance, unemployment benefit, insolvency benefit, daily sickness benefit and comparable benefits,
- Pension insurance pensions due to old age or reduced earning capacity, education pension, miners' compensation compensation, adjustment allowance for laid-off workers in the mining industry and benefits in accordance with Sections 27 and 28 of the Saar Social Insurance Equalization Act,
- Old-age pensions and pensions due to reduced earning capacity of the old-age insurance of farmers, which are paid to former farmers or working family members,
- Injury pension from accident insurance to the extent that it exceeds an amount corresponding to the basic pension under the Federal Pension Act; a reduction or loss of the injured person's pension due to institutional care or admission to a retirement or nursing home is not taken into account; In the case of a reduction in earning capacity by 20 percent, an amount of two thirds is to be applied, in the case of a reduction in earning capacity by 10 percent, an amount of one third of the minimum basic pension is to be applied,
- Retirement pensions and comparable remuneration from a public service or office relationship or from an insurance-free employment relationship with the right to pension according to civil service regulations or principles as well as comparable payments from the pension of the members of parliament,
- Accident pension and comparable remuneration from a public service or office relationship or from an insurance-free employment relationship with the right to benefits according to civil service regulations or principles as well as comparable remuneration from the benefits of the MPs; if no additional accident compensation is paid, number 4, last clause applies accordingly,
- Pensions of the public insurance or pension institutions of certain occupational groups due to reduced earning capacity or age,
- Compensation for occupational damage in accordance with Section 30 Paragraph 3 to 11 of the Federal Pension Act (BVG) and other laws that provide for the corresponding application of the performance regulations of the Federal Pension Act,
- Old-age or reduced earning capacity pensions that have been promised on the basis of an employment relationship,
- Pensions due to old age or reduced earning capacity from private life and pension insurance, general accident insurance and other private pension pensions.
Child-related services are not taken into account. The types of income not to be taken into account include, among other things, pensions due to death in addition to the education pension and the survivor's pension from the accident insurance as well as benefits from the survivor's pension (e.g. orphan's benefit), unemployment benefit II / social allowance, social assistance and basic security benefits in old age and training subsidies under the Federal Training Assistance Act (BAföG) ).
Property income
Property income is the positive sum of positive or negative surpluses, gains or losses from the following types of property income:
- Income from capital assets within the meaning of Section 20 EStG; Income within the meaning of Section 20 (1) No. 6 EStG in the version from January 1, 2005, even with only partial tax liability, are the full differences between the insurance benefits on the one hand and the contributions paid on them or the acquisition costs in the case of paid acquisition of the Claim to the insurance benefit on the other hand (deduct the saver's lump sum as income-related expenses lump sum),
- Income from insurance in the event of survival or death within the meaning of Section 10 Paragraph 1 No. 2 Letter b double letter. cc and dd EStG in the version on January 1, 2004, if the term of this insurance began before January 1, 2005 and an insurance premium was paid by December 31, 2004, unless they are paid due to death; The income includes non-accounting and accounting interest from the savings components that are included in the contributions to these insurance policies, within the meaning of Section 20 (1) No. 6 EStG in the version on September 21, 2002 (the saver's flat-rate amount to be deducted as a flat-rate for income-related expenses ),
- Income from renting and leasing within the meaning of § 21 EStG after deduction of advertising costs and
- Profits from private sales transactions within the meaning of Section 23 EStG, provided that they amount to at least 600 euros per calendar year.
Income not taken into account
In the case of so-called old cases, company pensions and private pensions, benefits from the higher insurance of the statutory pension insurance as well as income from assets and parental allowance are not offset ( § 114 SGB IV). An old case exists if the insured spouse died before January 1, 2002 or if the marriage was concluded before this date and at least one spouse was born before January 2, 1962.
Determination of the eligible income
From the types of income to be taken into account, the lump-sum net income is first determined in accordance with the regulations in Section 18b SGB IV by deducting a certain reduction amount. The tax exemption is then deducted in accordance with Section 97 (2) sentences 1 and 2 of SGB VI. 40% of the remaining creditable income is credited (Section 97, Paragraph 2, Sentence 3, SGB VI).
Reduction amount
The reduction amount is an amount between 5% and 40% of the income, which varies depending on the type of income. In the case of employment replacement income, it is also important for the amount of the percentage whether the benefit started before 2011 or after 2010. The reduction takes into account that the surviving dependents have to pay taxes and social security contributions from their income, i.e. they do not actually have the full income at their disposal. Due to the flat-rate calculation, the calculated net may differ from the actual net.
Compensation in the event of remarriage / re-partnering
In the event of remarriage / renewed partnership, the pension expires due to death. In this case, the pension insurance company pays out a "severance payment" in accordance with Section 107 of the Social Code Book VI in the amount of two annual pensions .
Resumption of widow's pension
If the second spouse also dies or the second marriage is divorced, the pension can be paid again by the first spouse from the month following the death or the legal force of the divorce decree - if this is requested again within twelve calendar months.
Socio-economic context
As highlighted in the Federal Government 's First Equal Opportunities Report, published in 2016, the survivors' insurance - despite the completed equality of widows and widowers - continues to follow the image of housewife or additional earning marriage , with the model of a woman who is not or only rarely employed because of care work. Because the criteria for the large widow's pension and the income allowance have the effect that this protection is more important for a widow with no or only a low income of her own than for a widower who is typically fully employed or receives a retirement pension. The expiry of the entitlement to a survivor's pension upon remarriage also follows this model.
The equality report also points out that the life decisions of today's widows and widowers were made with trust in the existence of this old-age insurance and that legitimate expectations therefore apply to their claims . For younger cohorts, on the other hand, a splitting of the acquired pension entitlements is appropriate in a consistent continuation of the community of achievements.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ An old case exists if the spouse died before January 1, 2002 or if the marriage was concluded before this date and at least one spouse was born before January 2, 1962.
- ↑ Peter Diamond: Widows and widowers must not be the losers of the pension reform: The amount of the surviving dependents' pension must be based on the previous income of the married couple. Retrieved September 5, 2009 .
- ↑ New version of Section 1281 of the Reich Insurance Code and Section 58 of the Employee Insurance Act through the Survivors' Pension and Parental Leave Act (HEZG) of July 11, 1985, Federal Law Gazette I, pp. 1450, 1454, 1458. See draft law (PDF; 1.28 MB )
- ↑ BVerfGE 39, 169–196
- ↑ Pension policy: income deduction and calculation examples. Federal Agency for Civic Education, January 31, 2014, accessed on July 28, 2014 .
- ↑ Widow's pensions. (No longer available online.) Sozialverband VdK Rheinland-Pfalz, formerly in the original ; Retrieved July 28, 2014 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Article 1 No. 6 letter a) and letter b) Old Age Assets Supplementation Act of March 21, 2001, Federal Law Gazette I, pages 403, 404
- ^ Chronicle of pension insurance: Major changes in the area of pension insurance (II). In: Portal social policy. Retrieved July 30, 2014 .
- ↑ Rürup pleads for a reduction in the widow's pension ( memento of May 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), Netzeitung , January 6, 2006 (accessed on November 5, 2007)
- ↑ Reduction of the widow's pension? ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , www.cecu.de, August 10, 2006 (accessed November 5, 2007)
- ↑ Rainer Bischoff : Reduction of the widow's pension is nonsense - proposal far from reality , NRW SPD parliamentary group, 23 August 2006 (accessed on 5 November 2007)
- ↑ This percentage results from the fact that the pension type factor according to Section 67 No. 5 SGB VI is 0.25
- ↑ See § 67 No. 6 SGB VI
- ↑ § 255 Paragraph 1 SGB VI
- ↑ 36 months * 0.1010 personal earnings points * 29.21 € current pension value * 0.55 pension type factor
- ↑ Article 3 (in particular No. 4 and 5) of the law on the revision of the civil partnership law of December 15, 2004, Federal Law Gazette I, pages 3396, 3399
- ↑ BVerfG, 1 BvR 1164/07 of July 7, 2009, paragraph no. (1 - 127). Federal Constitutional Court, accessed on October 26, 2009 .
- ↑ Survivor's pension ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 16, 2017
- ↑ BVerfG, 1 BvR 1318/86 of February 18, 1998, paragraph no. 1 - 95
- ^ First equality report of the federal government: New ways - equal opportunities. Equality between women and men over the life course. (PDF) June 16, 2011, accessed November 21, 2016 . P. 58.
- ^ First equality report of the federal government: New ways - equal opportunities. Equality between women and men over the life course. (PDF) June 16, 2011, accessed November 21, 2016 . P. 76.
