If the marriage is dissolved by divorce, the retirement assets accumulated in the second pillar during the marriage are divided in accordance with the statutory provisions, with half of the accumulated capital being divided between the spouses. This approach regularly results in pension deficits for the parties concerned, which can, however, be compensated for by a tax-privileged replenishment by means of a purchase. The legal question of whether such pension gaps may be filled even if the period until retirement is less than three years, and to what extent the retirement assets financed during this period may be drawn as a lump sum on retirement, was controversially discussed.
The Federal Supreme Court has dealt with this matter in two fundamental rulings and decided that the lump-sum withdrawal of retirement assets paid into the second pillar as a result of a divorce within the three-year period prior to retirement is permissible. This case law establishes a significant exception to the basic rule that prohibits lump-sum withdrawals from funds paid in within the last three years before retirement.