Pension splitting: The path to a fair division of pension entitlements for married couples

Pension splitting and its conditions

Pension splitting is a legal regulation in Germany that allows spouses or registered life partners to divide their pension entitlements from the period of marriage or civil partnership equally, as the German pension insurance explains in an article. This regulation aims to enable a more equitable distribution of pension rights between partners, particularly in cases where one partner was able to acquire fewer or no pension rights during the marriage.

The pension splitting procedure is based on the fact that the pension entitlements acquired by both partners during the marriage or civil partnership are divided equally, according to the German Pension Insurance. Here, the partner with the higher pension entitlements gives up part of his entitlements to the other partner, which usually leads to higher independent pension entitlements for the woman.

According to the German Pension Insurance, the conditions for pension splitting depend on the time of marriage and the date of birth of the partners. Pension splitting is possible if the marriage was concluded before 2002 and both partners were born after January 1, 1962, or if the marriage was concluded after December 31, 2001. In addition, both partners must each have at least 25 years of pensionable periods in their insurance history, as it goes on to say. In order to carry out pension splitting, both partners must have completed their working lives, which means that at least one partner is entitled to a full old-age pension for the first time, while the other partner must have reached the standard retirement age.

Pension equalization or pension splitting?

The regulations for pension splitting also apply to all registered civil partnerships that have been established since January 1, 2005. This makes it clear that the regulation has also been extended to modern forms of partnership in order to ensure a fair distribution of pension rights.

In the event of a divorce, pension equalization comes into effect instead of pension splitting. Since September 1, 2009, the law on pension equalization has stipulated that everything that was saved for retirement provision during the marriage is added up and divided equally – already at the divorce and not just when you reach retirement age, as is often the case reported in an online article.

Pension splitting and pension equalization are therefore essential components of the German pension system, which aim to ensure the financial security of both partners in old age and to fairly divide the pension entitlements acquired during the marriage or civil partnership.

Pension splitting in the event of death

In the event of the death of a partner, there are special regulations for pension splitting. If pension splitting was not permitted during the lifetime of both partners, the surviving partner can opt for pension splitting after the death of the other partner, provided they have 25 years of pensionable periods, as reported by the German Pension Insurance. The period from the death of the partner until the surviving partner turns 65 is added to his or her pensionable period to a certain extent. As a surviving partner, you therefore have the choice between a survivor’s pension or pension splitting, as it goes on to say. However, if you decide to split your pension, your entitlement to a widow’s or widower’s pension expires if you have already received such a pension.

Pension splitting can be particularly worthwhile for a surviving partner who was able to accumulate fewer pension entitlements during the marriage or civil partnership. Through pension splitting, you receive a higher pension entitlement, which remains even if you remarry, according to the German Pension Insurance. It should be particularly worthwhile if the surviving partner already receives their own pension and has such a high income that a widow’s or widower’s pension would not be paid out or if they can acquire their own pension entitlement through pension splitting and have a widow’s pension. or widower’s pension would not be paid out because the income was too high, as was finally reported.

D. Maier / editorial team finanzen.net