Death benefit for civil servants: What surviving relatives need to know!

Death benefit for civil servants: What surviving relatives need to know!

The survivorship of civil servants is a fundamental issue that can affect many families. In this matter, the death benefit and the associated claims play a particularly crucial role. Experts from the advice editorial team of t online provide valuable information and answer important questions.

Survivors of civil servants, such as widows, widowers or children, are entitled to various benefits that are not the same as the widow or widower's pension of employees. A central element of this provision is the death benefit, which is a one-off payment after the death of the civil servant. A common question that arises is whether the death benefit needs to be used for funeral costs.

Entitlement and amount of the death benefit

How banst-pt As explained, spouses, biological or adopted children and grandchildren are primarily entitled to the death benefit. Widows or widowers are the first to have access to this benefit, in accordance with Section 18 of the Civil Servants' Pensions Act (BeamtVG). The death benefit is usually twice the monthly salary or pension of the deceased civil servant. However, there are regional differences: in Bremen only 1.35 times the salary and in Baden-Württemberg only the death benefit is paid to the surviving spouse.

The purpose of the death benefit is primarily to provide financial relief to the surviving dependents. However, there is no legal obligation to use these funds for funeral costs. However, many relatives claim that the death benefit is used to cover the often high funeral costs.

Conditions for payout

The death benefit can also go to other relatives, such as parents, siblings, nieces or nephews, if they lived in the same household or the deceased was their main earner. Under certain circumstances, friends or unmarried partners can also claim the death benefit if they have borne the funeral costs. It is important to take into account the incurred and documented funeral costs, although these may not exceed twice the amount of the service or pension salary.

There are also other important aspects to clarify the questions surrounding the death benefit: costs for things such as transfer to another burial location or the purchase of mourning clothing are not covered. At the same time, the death benefit is subject to income tax, while the death benefit usually remains tax-free. Widows, widowers and orphans can also apply for advance payments on the death benefit banst-pt explained.

Overall, the regulation on survivors' pensions is clearly laid down in the Civil Servants' Pensions Act in order to best regulate the financial matters of the surviving dependents in the event of bereavement and to support them during this difficult time.