What happens financially if the main earner dies?

The statutory pension insurance keeps paying the deceased's full pension entitlement for the first three months (Sterbevierteljahr). After that there is 55 percent as the full survivor's pension (from age 47, while raising a child, or with own incapacity) or 25 percent as the small survivor's pension, limited to 24 months. Income above 1,123 euro a month is 40 percent offset against it.

How much incapacity pension do you get in Germany?

Roughly 32 percent of prior net income, capped at 1,570 euro a month (2026). The exact amount depends on your individual contribution record.

How long does statutory sick pay last?

Up to 78 weeks per illness within three years, minus the six weeks of continued wages the employer pays first. The amount is about 70 percent of gross pay, at most 90 percent of net pay.

Do unmarried partners get a survivor's pension?

No. The survivor's pension requires a marriage or registered civil partnership, regardless of shared children or how long the relationship lasted.

Is a survivor's own income offset against the survivor's pension?

Yes. Above an allowance of 1,123 euro a month (2026), 40 percent of the amount above it is deducted from the survivor's pension.

What happens financially when the main earner's income stops? Death, incapacity, illness

Three different reasons, three different calculations. On death, the statutory pension insurance pays the full amount for three months, then 55 or 25 percent survivor's pension. On permanent incapacity it is about 32 percent of prior net income, capped at 1,570 euro. On illness, statutory sick pay starts in week seven.

Kurzantwort: What happens financially depends on why the income stops. If the main earner dies, the statutory pension insurance keeps paying the full pension entitlement for the first three months (Sterbevierteljahr), then 55 percent as the full survivor's pension or 25 percent as the small survivor's pension, limited to 24 months. If someone becomes permanently unable to work, the statutory incapacity pension is roughly 32 percent of their prior net income, capped at 1,570 euro a month (2026). On longer illness, the statutory health fund pays sick pay from the seventh week, about 70 percent of gross pay, at most 90 percent of net pay, for up to 78 weeks per illness.

"What happens if the main earner's income stops" is really three separate questions, depending on why the income stops: death, permanent incapacity to work, or longer illness. Each has its own statutory benefit with its own amount and its own duration. This article keeps the three apart and works through the numbers the statutory system actually provides.

Death of the main earner: three months in full, then a survivor's pension

If a spouse dies who already drew a statutory pension or had met the qualifying period, the German pension insurance keeps paying the deceased's full pension entitlement for the first three calendar months after death (§ 67 No. 6 SGB VI, the Sterbevierteljahr), with no offset against the survivor's own income. After that, the survivor's pension (Witwenrente) applies: 55 percent of the deceased's pension as the full survivor's pension, if the survivor is at least 47, is raising a child under 18, or is themselves incapacitated (§ 46 Abs. 2 SGB VI). If none of these apply, only the small survivor's pension is paid, 25 percent, limited to 24 months (§ 46 Abs. 1 SGB VI, for deaths from 2002).

Example: the deceased main earner would have received 1,800 euro statutory pension. For the first three months, the pension insurance keeps paying 1,800 euro. After that, with the full survivor's pension, it is 990 euro a month; with the small survivor's pension, 450 euro for at most two years. The survivor's own income is partly offset: above a monthly allowance of 1,123 euro (2026, tied to the pension point value), 40 percent of the amount above it is deducted from the survivor's pension (§ 97 SGB VI). Earned income reduces the survivor's pension, but does not automatically replace it.

55 % / 25 % — Full survivor's pension (at 47+, raising a child, or own incapacity) versus the small survivor's pension (limited to 24 months), each relative to the deceased's pension.

Permanent incapacity: noticeably less than the previous income

Someone permanently unable to work, or only able to work in a limited capacity, has a statutory claim to the incapacity pension (Erwerbsminderungsrente, § 43 SGB VI) under certain conditions (at least five years insured, three of the last five years with compulsory contributions). The Zurechnungszeit extends the notional contribution record to the standard retirement age, so the incapacity pension lands roughly where the statutory old-age pension would land anyway: about 32 percent of prior net income, capped at 1,570 euro a month (2026). At 3,000 euro net income that is roughly 960 euro; at 5,000 euro net, the 1,570 euro cap is already reached (5,000 times 0.32 would be 1,600 euro, capped at 1,570 euro).

1,570 € — Upper limit of the approximate statutory incapacity pension (2026), regardless of prior income.

Longer illness: statutory sick pay from week seven

During illness, the employer first continues paying wages for up to six weeks (Lohnfortzahlung, § 3 Entgeltfortzahlungsgesetz). From the seventh week, the statutory health fund pays sick pay (Krankengeld): about 70 percent of gross pay, at most 90 percent of net pay, for up to 78 weeks per illness within three years. The full calculation with worked examples is in the article "Statutory sick pay: how much, how long, what comes after".

What these numbers leave out

The incapacity pension figure is an approximation using the same formula Miravel uses for the old-age pension (a net replacement-rate share, capped). The actual amount depends on your individual contribution record and is stated in your pension information from the German pension insurance.
The age-47 threshold for the full survivor's pension is the target value for deaths from 2029 onward (§ 242a SGB VI). It is still rising in steps: for a death in 2026, the threshold is 46 years and 6 months, slightly lower than the 47 years stated above.
After the 78 weeks of sick pay, statutory health insurance as an employee usually ends; what follows is the incapacity pension, unemployment benefit, or another follow-on benefit, depending on the case.
The survivor's pension figures apply to marriages and registered civil partnerships. Unmarried couples have no claim to a survivor's pension, regardless of how long they were together or whether they have children.
None of these statutory benefits fully replaces a private term life or disability insurance policy. Whether, and at what level, such a policy makes sense depends on the individual gap between the statutory benefit and what a household needs, a question each household answers for itself, not a general recommendation of this page.

What happens financially if the main earner dies?: The statutory pension insurance keeps paying the deceased's full pension entitlement for the first three months (Sterbevierteljahr). After that there is 55 percent as the full survivor's pension (from age 47, while raising a child, or with own incapacity) or 25 percent as the small survivor's pension, limited to 24 months. Income above 1,123 euro a month is 40 percent offset against it.
How much incapacity pension do you get in Germany?: Roughly 32 percent of prior net income, capped at 1,570 euro a month (2026). The exact amount depends on your individual contribution record.
How long does statutory sick pay last?: Up to 78 weeks per illness within three years, minus the six weeks of continued wages the employer pays first. The amount is about 70 percent of gross pay, at most 90 percent of net pay.
Do unmarried partners get a survivor's pension?: No. The survivor's pension requires a marriage or registered civil partnership, regardless of shared children or how long the relationship lasted.
Is a survivor's own income offset against the survivor's pension?: Yes. Above an allowance of 1,123 euro a month (2026), 40 percent of the amount above it is deducted from the survivor's pension.

These figures are the statutory approximations, not advice and not a substitute for your individual pension statement. Miravel runs the numbers against your own household's income and fixed costs to show what losing the main earner's income would actually mean.