Applying for a half or full orphan's pension

A distinction is made between a half orphan's pension and a full orphan's pension. You will receive a half-orphan's pension if one parent who is liable to pay maintenance is still alive, and a full orphan's pension if both parents who are liable to pay maintenance have died.

The half-orphan's pension amounts to 10 percent, the full orphan's pension to 20 percent of the insured person's pension to which the deceased parent would have been entitled or to which he or she was already entitled.

You will receive a supplement to both the full and half-orphan's pension based on the pensionable periods completed by the deceased parent or parents. If an orphan is entitled to several half-orphan's pensions, only the highest one will be paid.

If the parent or parents died before reaching a certain age, the orphan's pension is reduced. For deaths before 2012, this age limit was 63. From 2012, the age limit will be gradually raised from 63 to 65 by December 31, 2023.

Orphans' pensions are regularly paid until the orphan's 18th birthday. Under certain conditions, you can receive an orphan's pension until the orphan reaches the age of 27.

Note: If you adopt an orphan who is already receiving an orphan's pension, they will continue to receive it. It will continue to be paid unchanged even if the orphan marries.

Requirements

Surviving children receive an orphan's pension from the pension insurance provider if the deceased parent or parents have fulfilled the general qualifying period of 5 years. This includes

• Contribution periods (compulsory and voluntary contributions),
• substitute periods,
• child-raising periods,
• periods from pension equalization and pension splitting between spouses,
• periods of marginal employment with contributions paid by the employer and
• additional earnings points for earnings from marginal employment exempt from compulsory insurance.

The following are entitled to an orphan's pension

• natural or adopted children of the deceased,
• stepchildren and foster children who lived in the household of the deceased and
• grandchildren and siblings who lived in the household of the deceased or were mainly supported by him/her,

if they:

• are not yet 18 years old or
• are not yet 27 years old and:
  
  • are in school or vocational training for more than 20 hours per week,
  • are doing voluntary service or
  • are unable to care for themselves due to a physical, mental or psychological disability.
• An orphan's pension can also be paid for transitional periods of a maximum of four calendar months, for example between two training courses.
• An orphan's pension entitlement may be extended beyond the age of 27, for example due to the prior completion of voluntary military service during the probationary period.

What documents do I need?

• Required documents
  
  • Application for orphan's pension
  • Identity document (such as identity card, passport, birth certificate or family register),
  • Death certificate of the deceased parent
  • if applying for an orphan's pension for an orphan of full age:
    
    • Proof of schooling or vocational training or
    • Proof of voluntary service.