Understand how your own income is offset
After the first three months your own income reduces the pension. The mechanism is fixed: an exempt amount, an addition per child, and forty per cent of the remainder.
✓ 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
Offsetting is based on the previous year, so the first recalculation often arrives together with a demand to repay. If income rises, reporting it yourself and asking for an adjustment is cheaper.
The exempt amount grows with every child entitled to an orphan pension — including a child not descended from the deceased. Many people do not know this and never mention it.
Useful Tools
- Sozialverband VdK social
Social association: supports applications and appeals on disability, pensions and care. Membership is paid, advice included.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
When does income offsetting begin at all? ▾
Not before the pension factor falls below 1.0. While it equals 1.0 — during the first three calendar months after the month of death — there is no offsetting.
Which part of the income stays exempt? ▾
Only income above 26.4 times the current pension value per month is offsettable. The exempt amount rises by 5.6 times that value for each child entitled to an orphan pension. Of the excess, forty per cent is offset.
Which types of income count? ▾
Earned income, income replacing earnings, investment income and parental allowance, as well as comparable income from abroad. Payments from state-subsidised private pension contracts are left out of account.
So a good salary means no pension? ▾
The pension is reduced, not mechanically cancelled: only forty per cent of the amount above the exempt threshold is offset. It can fall to zero with a high income, but that follows from the calculation rather than a separate rule.
Why is no euro figure given anywhere? ▾
The exempt amount is tied to the current pension value, which is set anew every year on 1 July. A figure printed here would be wrong within months, so we describe the multipliers.