Only a conviction by a German court can result in civil servants losing their pension entitlements. This is the result of a decision by the Federal Administrative Court (Ref.: 2 C 13.24 of 4 September 2025). This was based on an unusual case: a family man had killed his separated wife and one of his two children in Tenerife. His second child was able to escape. In a subsequent criminal trial, the father of the family was sentenced to life imprisonment for murder, which he is now serving in Spain. The Federal Administrative Court was now entrusted with the case, as the father of the family is a civil servant in early retirement who receives a corresponding pension. The employer tried to have this pension cancelled.

The Federal Administrative Court rejected the disciplinary action, as had the previous instances. In principle, civil servants who have been sentenced to more than 12 months imprisonment for a criminal offence lose their civil servant status, including their pension entitlements. However, the Federal Administrative Court clarified that this only applies in the event of a conviction by a German court.

In addition, retired civil servants are subject to a limited range of duties. For example, they are not permitted to engage in activities against the free democratic basic order. However, the Federal Administrative Court was unable to establish a political motivation in this case; rather, it was a privately motivated act.

The Civil Servants Status Act provides for a regulation on the duties of retired civil servants that is similar to the Federal Civil Servants Act. The legal principles established by the Federal Administrative Court therefore also apply to the federal states, districts, cities and municipalities, i.e. also to state and municipal civil servants. However, it remains to be seen whether and to what extent the legislator will now take the decision as an opportunity to tighten up the law.