Pension to widows and widowers

The survivor’s pension has become less substantial in recent years, due to the increased participation of women in the labour market and shifts in the distribution of income between spouses. Some of the countries also grant funeral assistance.

Denmark

Pensions to widows and widowers have been abolished. A survivor’s allowance is payable to non-pensioners upon the death of their spouse or partner. The survivor’s allowance is income- and capital-adjusted and takes the form of a non-recurrent payment.

Faroe Islands

Pensions to widows and widowers have been abolished. A widow’s/widower’s pension is payable via the disability pension system. To receive this benefit, the recipient must have been married. Upon losing a spouse, pensioners may be paid a survivor’s pension on a short-term basis, corresponding to three months’ pension. The number of people in receipt of the survivor’s pension is not registered separately.

Finland

A family pension may be granted if marriage took place before the surviving spouse turned 65 and s/he had children by the deceased. For couples with no children, marriage must have taken place before the surviving spouse turned 50 and must have lasted more than five years. Similar rules apply to those in registered partnerships. Widows and widowers are entitled to the survivor’s pension by way of basic pension/guaranteed minimum pension and employment pension/earnings-related pension.

Iceland

The survivor’s pension has been abolished as a basic pension, but it is still paid via the employment pension system.

Norway

A pension is granted to surviving spouses and, in some cases, to cohabitants. A pension may also be granted to survivors if they were either divorced or had children together. The survivor’s ability to support him-/herself determines their entitlement to the survivor's pension. Widows and widowers are entitled to the survivor’s pension by way of basic pension/guaranteed minimum pension and employment pension/earnings-related pension.

The Social Security Scheme’s old-age and disability pension systems define the rules governing the employment pension for survivors. Survivors are granted the highest amount from their own employment pension, or 55 per cent of the sum of their own and the deceased’s employment pensions.

Sweden

The current widow’s/widower's pension will naturally lapse for most survivors. Under the old system, a condition for being awarded the widow’s/widower's pension was that marriage had taken place no later than 1989. Widows and widowers are entitled to the survivor’s pension by way of a basic pension/guaranteed minimum pension and an employment pension/earnings-related pension.

The basic pension/guaranteed minimum pension is revoked when the surviving spouse qualifies for the basic/guaranteed minimum pension under the old-age pension scheme. Similarly, the basic/guaranteed minimum pension lapses if a survivor is awarded a disability pension. The pension is payable to the surviving spouse in the form of an earnings-related or supplementary pension.