German Widow's Pension Calculator 2026
When your spouse or registered partner dies, the German statutory pension insurance pays a survivor's pension, the Witwenrente (Witwerrente for widowers). This calculator shows how much it is in 2026: large or small widow's pension, the supplement for children, the offset of your own income, and what is left after health and care insurance and income tax.
Net widow's pension per month
EUR / month
Example calculation with default valuesView sources
Your countable net income is above the allowance. 40 percent of the amount above it is deducted from the widow's pension, the rest is paid.
Next step:Turn a gross disability pension into netTurn this gross figure into your net pay
Your details
From the last pension notice. If they did not draw a pension yet: the full disability pension from their last Renteninformation.
Large if, for a death in 2026, you are at least 46 years and 6 months old, raise a child under 18 or have reduced earning capacity. Otherwise small.
Yes if you married before 2002 and one of you was born before 2 January 1962.
The supplement counts the first three years of each child, even if the children are adults today.
From employment. The pension insurance uses last year's average, at the start of the pension also current income.
Decides how much of the gross counts as net income.
Old-age or disability pension from the statutory pension insurance, before contributions.
Before 2011 the cut is 13 percent, afterwards 14 percent. Also matters for your tax.
Shown in your tax assessment as the tax-free part of the pension. At 0 the calculator estimates it from the statutory pension increases since your pension started.
Each raises the allowance by 238.11 euro. Usually children under 18, in education up to 27.
If the deceased already drew a pension: their pension start, because their pension's running time is deducted. Otherwise the year the widow's pension starts.
In the calendar year after the year of death a widowed person still gets the splitting tariff, then the basic tariff.
Average for 2026: 2.9 percent. You pay half of it.
If you never had children you pay a 0.6 percent care surcharge.
8 percent in Bavaria and Baden-WĂĽrttemberg, 9 percent elsewhere.
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Side by side
Difference-251.08 EUR / month
From the deceased's pension to your widow's pension
- Deceased's pension
- 1,600 EUR / month
- Share (pension type factor)
- 55 %
- Widow's pension from the deceased's pension
- 880 EUR / month
- Widow's pension before the income test
- 880 EUR / month
- Your countable net income
- 1,204 EUR / month
- Allowance
- 1,122.53 EUR / month
- Offset (40 percent above the allowance)
- 32.59 EUR / month
- Gross widow's pension (paid before deductions)
- 847.41 EUR / month
- Health insurance (your share)
- 74.15 EUR / month
- Long-term care insurance
- 30.51 EUR / month
- Taxable share of the widow's pension
- 84 %
- Extra income tax, solidarity surcharge, church tax (monthly average)
- 113.83 EUR / month
- First three months (quarter after death), gross
- 1,600 EUR / month
- Gross wage up to which nothing is offset
- 1,870.88 EUR / month
Good to know
Until the end of the third calendar month after the month of death the pension insurance keeps paying the deceased's full pension, with no income test. You can get it as an advance through the Renten Service of Deutsche Post if you apply within 30 days of the death.
Non-binding estimate under SGB VI, SGB IV and the Income Tax Act with the pension value from 1 July 2026. Not included: pension splitting, pension rights adjustment after divorce, a pension after the previous spouse, miners’ pensions, company and private pensions, civil service pensions, self-employment, capital and rental income, the previous-year rule for income, the care insurance discount for children and joint assessment in the year of death. Only the pension notice is binding. Not legal or tax advice.
The link carries your inputs, not the result: whoever opens it calculates with the current figures.
How much is the German widow's pension?
The large widow's pension is 55 percent of the deceased's pension (60 percent under the old law) and the small one 25 percent; for the first three months after the month of death the full pension is paid, and since 1 July 2026 your own net income above 1,122.53 euro a month is offset at 40 percent.
The formula
Gross widow's pension = deceased's pension times 55 percent (large), 60 percent (large, old law) or 25 percent (small), plus the child supplement. Offset = 40 percent of (your net income minus 1,122.53 euro minus 238.11 euro per child entitled to an orphan's pension). Net income = gross wage minus 40 percent, own pension minus 14 percent. Net = amount paid minus health and care insurance minus the extra tax the widow's pension causes.
Worked example
Example: a deceased's pension of 1,600 EUR gives 880 EUR widow's pension. Your countable net income of 1,204 EUR against the 1,122.53 EUR allowance leads to an offset of 32.59 EUR, leaving 847.41 EUR gross. After 74.15 EUR health insurance, 30.51 EUR care insurance and 113.83 EUR tax on a monthly average, 628.92 EUR remain net.
Key figures for 2026
| Large widow's pension | 55 percent of the deceased's pension, 60 percent under the old law |
|---|---|
| Small widow's pension | 25 percent, at most 24 months under the new law |
| Quarter after death | the deceased's full pension until the end of the third month after the month of death |
| Allowance from 1 July 2026 | 1,122.53 euro net a month, plus 238.11 euro per child with an orphan’s pension |
| Offset | 40 percent of net income above the allowance |
| Age limit for the large pension | 46 years and 6 months for a death in 2026, 47 from 2029 |
| Child supplement (new law) | first child 85.03 euro, each further child 42.52 euro on the large pension |
Figures verified:
How the German widow's pension is calculated
You are entitled if your deceased spouse or registered partner met the general waiting period of five years, you were married for at least one year and you have not remarried. The rules for widowers are identical.
Which pension you get depends on you: the large widow's pension applies if you raise a child under 18, have reduced earning capacity or reached the age limit. That limit rises step by step from 45 to 47 and is 46 years and 6 months for a death in 2026. Otherwise you get the small widow's pension.
The basis is the deceased's pension. The large widow's pension is 55 percent of it. If you married before 2002 and one of you was born before 2 January 1962, the old law applies with 60 percent. The small widow's pension is 25 percent and, under the new law, is paid for two years only.
Under the new law a supplement is added for children you raised in their first three years: on the large widow's pension in 2026 about 85 euro for the first child and about 43 euro for each further child. It makes up for the cut from 60 to 55 percent.
For the first three months after the month of death you receive the deceased's full pension. Your own income plays no role then.
After that your own income is offset. Fixed cuts turn the gross into a net income: 40 percent for wages, 14 percent for your own pension (13 percent if it started before 2011). If that is above the allowance of 1,122.53 euro, plus 238.11 euro per child with an orphan’s pension, 40 percent of the excess is deducted.
From the amount paid, health and care contributions come off as with any pension. The taxable share applies; if the deceased already drew a pension it follows their pension start. Whether tax is due depends on your total income. The calculator shows the tax the widow's pension adds.
Frequently asked questions about the widow's pension
- How much is the large widow's pension?
- Under the new law 55 percent of the pension the deceased drew or would have received for full disability, 60 percent under the old law. With a deceased's pension of 1,500 euro that is 825 euro gross, plus any child supplement. For the first three months after the month of death the full 1,500 euro is paid.
- What is the difference between the large and the small widow's pension?
- The small one is 25 instead of 55 percent and, under the new law, is paid for 24 months only. You get the large one if you raise a child under 18, have reduced earning capacity or, for a death in 2026, are at least 46 years and 6 months old.
- How much can I earn alongside a widow's pension?
- Since 1 July 2026, 1,122.53 euro of net income a month is not offset, 238.11 euro more for each child with an orphan’s pension. Because a flat 40 percent comes off wages, that equals about 1,870 euro gross in regular employment without children. 40 percent of anything above is offset.
- Is my own pension offset against the widow's pension?
- Yes. Your own statutory pension counts as income after a 14 percent cut (13 percent if it started before 2011). Without children entitled to an orphan’s pension the offset starts at about 1,305 euro of own gross pension. 40 percent of the net amount above that is deducted.
- How much of the widow's pension is left net?
- Half the health contribution (7.3 percent plus half the top-up) and the full care contribution of 3.6 percent, 4.2 percent if childless, come off the amount paid. Tax is only due if your total income is above the basic allowance. Without other income a widow’s pension of 825 euro usually stays tax free, leaving about 723 euro net.
- What is the quarter after death (Sterbevierteljahr)?
- Until the end of the third calendar month after the month of death the pension insurance pays the deceased's full pension as the widow's pension, without offsetting your income. You apply for an advance within 30 days at the Renten Service of Deutsche Post.
- When does the old law with 60 percent apply?
- If you married before 1 January 2002 and at least one of you was born before 2 January 1962, or your partner died before 2002. Then the large pension is 60 percent, the small one has no time limit, and company pensions, interest or rent are not offset. There is no child supplement.
- Do widowers get a widower's pension?
- Yes, on exactly the same terms and at the same level. The same applies to registered partners. Unmarried couples have no entitlement.
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As of (tax year 2026) · last verified:
Sources:
- § 46 SGB VI (kleine und große Witwenrente, 24 Monate)
- § 242a SGB VI (Altersgrenze 46 Jahre und 6 Monate bei Tod 2026, altes Recht)
- § 67 SGB VI (Rentenartfaktor 1,0 im Sterbevierteljahr, 0,25 und 0,55)
- § 255 SGB VI (Rentenartfaktor 0,6 nach altem Recht)
- § 78a SGB VI (Zuschlag für Kindererziehung) und § 88a SGB VI (Höchstbetrag)
- DRV, rvRecht: GRA zu § 78a SGB VI (nur neues Recht, kleine und große Witwenrente)
- § 97 SGB VI (Einkommensanrechnung, 26,4 und 5,6 fache Rentenwert, 40 Prozent)
- § 18a und § 18b SGB IV (anrechenbares Einkommen, pauschale Abzüge)
- § 114 SGB IV (Einkommen nach altem Recht)
- RWBestV 2026 (aktueller Rentenwert 42,52 Euro ab 1. Juli 2026)
- Deutsche Rentenversicherung: Freibetrag 1.122,53 Euro und 238,11 Euro je Kind ab Juli 2026
- § 22 EStG (Besteuerungsanteil, Folgerenten nach Satz 8)
- § 249a SGB V und § 59 SGB XI (Beiträge aus der Rente)
Scope of review: formulas and reference values were checked against the sources listed above, by the Nomado24 editorial team. What is verified is the calculation logic, not your personal situation. Not tax or legal advice.