File the application in good time
A survivor pension is not granted automatically. Backdated payment reaches twelve months before the month of application at most, and the first three months are calculated at a higher factor.
✓ Verified: 11/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
Deutsche Rentenversicherung (DRV)
Public bodyPension, account clarification and rehabilitation all run through the Deutsche Rentenversicherung — with in-person advice and online services (eService).
› Details and tips
Several certified copies of the death certificate save weeks: pension insurance, health funds, banks and insurers all ask for one at the same time, while a single copy travels between offices.
The twelve months are not a filing deadline but the limit on backdating. Many people confuse the two and assume the entitlement is gone after a year.
Useful Tools
- Sozialverband VdK social
Social association: supports applications and appeals on disability, pensions and care. Membership is paid, advice included.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
From which day is the pension paid? ▾
From the beginning of the month at whose start the conditions are met. Where no pension was payable to the deceased for the month of death, payment starts from the day of death. Backdating, however, is limited to twelve calendar months before the month of application.
What is the Sterbevierteljahr? ▾
For the first three calendar months after the month of death the pension is calculated at factor 1.0, that is at the level of the pension of the deceased; the factor then drops to 0.25 for the small and 0.55 for the large pension. It is a transition period, not a bonus.
Why state your own income right away? ▾
Because after the Sterbevierteljahr the income of the surviving spouse is offset against the pension. Without figures the award is provisional, recalculated later, and any overpayment reclaimed.
Do children need a separate application? ▾
Yes, the orphan pension is applied for separately even though the documents overlap. Its conditions and time limits depend on the education of the child, not on the status of the spouse.
What if more than a year has already passed? ▾
The application is still worth filing: the entitlement does not lapse, only the backdated payment for months beyond twelve is lost. The longer the pause, the more money is left uncollected.