Civil servant pension on divorce: how it is divided and reduced

Is the pension divided on divorce?

Yes, the pension is divided. Civil servant pensions belong in the Versorgungsausgleich (pension rights adjustment) like any other pension § 2 (1) VersAusglG. The part acquired during the marriage is divided, and the other spouse receives half of it § 1 (2) VersAusglG. The marriage period runs from the month of the wedding to the month before the Scheidungsantrag (divorce petition) is served § 3 (1) VersAusglG.

For civil servants, this part is calculated pro rata by time § 44 (1) VersAusglG. The employer works out the pension you would reach by the retirement age and sets the pensionable service during the marriage against your total service. If you became a civil servant at 27 and were married for twenty of your forty years of service, you therefore give up roughly a quarter: half of half. The calculation uses your pay at the end of the marriage period § 5 (2) VersAusglG. Promotions after the divorce do not count, and credited training periods lengthen total service. Measured against the later pension, the share is therefore often smaller.

In return, you receive half of the rights your spouse acquired during the marriage, for example in the statutory pension scheme or from a company pension. Each right is divided on its own. After internal division, only rights of the same kind with the same provider, or with providers that have agreed to offset, are set off against each other § 10 (2) VersAusglG.

Federal or state: how the division works

For federal civil servants, the court divides internally. The other spouse receives a pension claim of their own against the federal government or the body that bears your pension § 10 (1) VersAusglG, § 1 BVersTG.

For civil servants of the states and municipalities, the division is external. The court creates a right in the statutory pension scheme for the other spouse and converts the equalization value into earnings points § 16 (1), (3) VersAusglG. This applies as long as the state does not provide for internal division. Hesse has not done so; its reduction rule presupposes external division § 63 HBeamtVG. As of 2023, no other state had introduced internal division either BR-Drs. 402/23. For the entitled spouse, this means a statutory pension under the rules of the pension scheme, with its retirement ages.

For civil servants on revocable appointment and fixed-term soldiers, external division always applies § 16 (2) VersAusglG. Their right is valued as if they were retroactively insured in the statutory pension scheme § 44 (4) VersAusglG.

When the reduction begins

The reduction begins with retirement. As long as you are in service, your pay stays the same. From the first month of retirement, the pension is reduced by a fixed amount. For federal civil servants, § 57 BeamtVG governs this; for civil servants of the state of Hesse and its municipalities, § 63 HBeamtVG.

The reduction amount does not stand still. It rises with the general pension adjustments since the end of the marriage period § 57 (2) BeamtVG; § 63 (2) HBeamtVG. In Hesse, the pay grade at the end of the marriage period remains the basis. If you retire after the divorce, the pension is reduced even if the other spouse is not yet drawing any pension.

It is different if you are already drawing a pension when the decision takes effect. In Hesse, that pension is reduced only once the other spouse receives a pension from the adjustment § 63 (3) HBeamtVG. At the federal level, this deferral applies only to old cases: the pension entitlement must have arisen before September 1, 2009, and the pension adjustment proceedings must have been initiated by then § 57 (1) sentence 2 BeamtVG.

If you remarry, the reduction also affects your survivors when you die. Widow’s, widower’s and orphan’s benefits are reduced proportionally, though usually not the benefit of a full orphan § 57 (1), (3) BeamtVG; § 63 (4) HBeamtVG.

Avoiding the reduction with a payment

You can avoid the reduction in whole or in part by paying a capital sum to your employer § 58 (1) BeamtVG; § 63 (7) HBeamtVG. The pension authority calculates the amount on request. It is based on the amount that would have had to be paid for the other spouse’s right under the decision of the Familiengericht (family court), updated to the time of payment § 58 (2) BeamtVG. A partial payment reduces the cut proportionally and should be at least one month’s pay § 58 (3) BeamtVG.

This is worthwhile above all if you have assets and many years of service ahead, or if you receive money from another procedure, such as the Zugewinnausgleich (equalization of accrued gains). Have the figure calculated in advance and compare how many years of pension you need for the payment to pay for itself.

If the other spouse is not yet drawing a pension

If the other spouse is not yet drawing a pension, the reduction can be suspended. The condition is that they cannot yet receive a pension from the adjustment and, without the reduction, would have a statutory maintenance claim against you. The reduction is then suspended on application up to the amount of that maintenance, at most up to the difference between the two sides’ equalization values § 33 (1), (3) VersAusglG. You then pay maintenance out of the unreduced pension instead of being cut and owing maintenance at the same time.

The rule applies only if the reduction reaches a minimum threshold § 33 (2) VersAusglG. The Familiengericht (family court) decides on the application, and the suspension takes effect from the month after the application § 34 (1), (3) VersAusglG. If maintenance changes, the suspension can be modified. If the other spouse draws a pension of their own, remarries or dies, the pension provider ends the suspension. You have to inform the provider of these circumstances and of any change in maintenance without delay § 34 (5), (6) VersAusglG.

If you retire early

If you retire early, you often cannot yet draw the pension from the adjustment. This affects, for example, police officers and firefighters with their special retirement age, or retirement due to incapacity for service. If you yourself received a right in the adjustment, for example in the statutory pension scheme, that you can only draw later, the reduction of your pension is suspended on application § 35 (1) VersAusglG. The suspension is capped at the equalization values of the rights from which you do not yet draw anything § 35 (3) VersAusglG.

If the other spouse dies early

If the other spouse dies early, the reduction falls away on application. The condition is that they drew the pension from the adjustment for no more than 36 months § 37 (1), (2) VersAusglG. If they never drew a pension because they died before retirement age, this is met. If you avoided the reduction with a payment, it is refunded after deducting the pension paid out. Rights you received in the adjustment from the deceased spouse lapse when the adjustment takes effect § 37 (3) VersAusglG.

Hesse goes further for its civil servants. If the other spouse drew a pension for more than 36 months, the reduction can still fall away in cases of hardship once it has lasted twice as long as the pension was drawn § 63 (6) HBeamtVG.

You file the application with your employer or the pension authority, not with the court. It takes effect only from the month after the application § 38 (1), (2) VersAusglG. File it as soon as you learn of the death.

Health care allowance after the divorce

The employer’s health care allowance (Beihilfe) is not a right in the pension adjustment and is not divided. A spouse who was covered under your allowance loses this protection once the divorce is final § 4 (1) BBhV; § 3 (1) HBeihVO. They then have to take out their own insurance. Factor that into maintenance, because the cost of one’s own health insurance is part of the need.

An agreement instead of the division

You can settle the pension adjustment yourselves § 6 (1) VersAusglG. Often the civil servant keeps the pension undivided, and the other spouse receives compensation from the assets instead, such as the jointly owned home. However, an agreement can create new rights with an employer only if its rules allow this and it consents § 8 (2) VersAusglG.

Until the decision on the pension adjustment is final, the agreement requires notarization or a settlement recorded by the court § 7 VersAusglG. The court checks whether it withstands review of its content and its exercise, meaning that it does not unfairly disadvantage either spouse § 8 (1) VersAusglG. Where the limits lie is covered in When the pension rights adjustment falls away. What you have to declare in the proceedings is described in The V10 pension adjustment questionnaire: what matters.

The next step

At our office, attorney Mieke Karcher handles the pension adjustment. If an agreement involving assets is on the table, attorney Dietrich Karcher joins her. The first consultation costs up to €190 plus VAT, at most €226.10 in total. If we take on your case, this fee does not apply. How the further fees are calculated is set out under Costs. Our pension rights calculator gives you a first overview. The overall framework is described on our page on the pension rights adjustment.