Filenews 23 April 2022 - by Eleftheria Paizanos
Marriage and civil partnership are not a prerequisite in six European countries for becoming a beneficiary of a widow's/widower's pension. For these countries, it is enough for a couple to live together for many years. In particular, Spain, Croatia, Hungary, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland recognise long-term cohabitation without the conclusion of any form of marriage or cohabitation agreement to qualify for a widow's/widower's pension, under certain conditions, such as the duration of cohabitation and the existence of minor children.
The data are included in a survey conducted by the Research and Study Service of the Parliament, at the request of AKEL MP George Koukoumas, who, in view of the revision of the pension system in our country, asked to be informed about what is in force in other countries.
In Cyprus, long-term cohabitation is not recognised, but in order to become a beneficiary of a widow's/widower's pension, someone must have been married for at least five years to a person who has died or has entered into a civil partnership. In our country, a widow's/widower's pension is paid to the surviving spouse of an insured person, regardless of the category of insurance (employed, self-employed or voluntarily insured). A widow's/widower's pension is received by a widow who was dependent on the deceased spouse and who lived with him/her (marriage/civil partnership) or was maintained by him until the day of his/her death. Also, a widow's/widower's pension is received by the widowed man, who was dependent on the deceased wife, who died on or after 1 January 2018 and lived with her (marriage/civil partnership) or was dependent from her until the day of her death.
The six countries
In detail, in the six most progressive European countries that recognize the cohabitation of partners and no marriage or civil partnership is required for the widow's/widower's pension, the following apply:
- Spain: Long-term cohabitation without the conclusion of a marriage or civil partnership for the purpose of acquiring the right to a widow's/widower's pension is recognised. This right is guaranteed subject to the uninterrupted duration of cohabitation of at least five years, unless there are common children, in which case they only have to prove the existence of the unmarried couple.
- Croatia: The partner of the person who died without having entered into a marriage or civil partnership is considered an informal partner and is entitled to a survivor's pension. In order to become a beneficiary, the relationship must have existed after 28 March 2008 and lasted at least three years. The status of the relationship is determined by judicial process. Family members of an informal life partner are entitled to a survivor's pension if the relationship existed on or after 5 August 2014 and provided that it lasted at least three years.
- Hungary: Long-term cohabitation is recognised, but in this case the surviving partner is only entitled to a widow's/widower's pension if he/she has lived with his/her partner continuously for one year and has had a child before his/her death or if he/she has lived continuously for ten years, provided that he/she did not receive a widow's/widower's pension during this period.
- Portugal: The unmarried partner is granted a survivor's pension. According to the legal framework applicable in the country, a survivor's pension is entitled to a person who, at the time of the partner's death, lived with him for more than two years in conditions similar to those of the spouses, even without the conclusion of any form of marriage or civil partnership.
- Slovenia: The right to a widow's/widower's pension concerns spouses, as well as (under the conditions laid down in the Law on Pensions and Invalidity Insurance) divorced spouses and persons living in partnership or in a registered or unregistered relationship with the deceased.
- Finland: As of 1 January 2022, long-term cohabitation without the conclusion of any form of marriage or cohabitation agreement to establish the right to a widow's/widower's pension is recognised. If the deceased died on or after 1 January 2022, a survivor's pension shall be paid to the partner with whom the deceased lived, subject to conditions. The pension stops as soon as the youngest joint child reaches the age of 18.
Data from 17 countries
In the context of the survey conducted by the Parliament, it forwarded a questionnaire to the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation (ECPRD), in relation to the criteria to be met by the beneficiaries and on the formula applied for the allocation of the widow's/widower's pension in cases where the deceased or the deceased has had more than one marriage.
For the latter issue, in Cyprus the widow's/widower's pension is received by the last spouse of the deceased person. In fact, in the Cyprus Parliament, proposals for a law are pending so that there is a formula for dividing the widow's pension to the spouses, depending on the years when he/she died he/she was married or had a civil partnership.
17 Member States of the European Union responded to the Parliament's request for information. The relevant data were forwarded by the European Centre for Parliamentary Research and Documentation and processed by the Research Service of the Cyprus Parliament. According to the conclusion of the study of the Parliament, from the data received from the 17 countries, it found that in none of the countries is discrimination on the basis of sex (widow/widower) in the granting of a widow's or survivor's pension. However, in Spain, in order to reduce the gender gap, a pension supplement is given to mothers, with the aim of redressing the prejudice suffered by women throughout their professional careers, mainly due to the assumption of a leading role in the care of their children.
Other widow's/widower's pension and others survivor's pension
With regard to widows' pension schemes in other Member States, it has been found that in several countries, such as Austria, Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia and the Czech Republic, widows' pension schemes are in place. In other countries, such as France, Estonia, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Romania and Finland, no special widow's pension has been introduced, but it is granted under certain conditions. That is, a widow or widower can apply for a survivor's pension. This is a monthly allowance that corresponds to a percentage of the pension that the deceased received/would receive and is paid to his/her closest living relatives (e.g. spouse, minor children, children with disabilities). In Portugal, both pensions are granted.
Different criteria in most countries
According to the findings contained in the study of the Cyprus Parliament, the national social security systems and the criteria to be met by beneficiaries differ from one Member State to another. Common criteria set by almost all countries are the age of either the survivor or the deceased, the years of service and contributions.
At the same time, several countries require the existence of children, incapacity for work, income, length of marriage and death caused by an accident at work. For example, in Finland there is no minimum age, working time or contributions. However, from 1.1.2022, beneficiaries born on or after 1.1.1975 are entitled to the pension for 10 years and those born on 31.12.1974 and previously receive the pension indefinitely. Moreover, in some other countries, such as Hungary, Poland, Portugal and Slovakia, the pension is temporary, but can be extended or converted into permanent pension under certain conditions.
In Cyprus, in order to obtain a widow's/widower's pension, in addition to the criterion of marriage and civil partnership, the relevant insurance conditions must be met. That is, if the spouse had not reached the pensionable age or if he/she had reached the pensionable age and was a beneficiary in a statutory pension or would have been entitled to a statutory pension and if he/she had submitted the relevant application.
The parliament's study includes data on the formula applied by EU member states for sharing the widow's/widower's pension in cases where the deceased or deceased has had more than one marriage. According to the analysis of the data, in France, Germany and Spain, where the deceased or deceased has married more than one marriage, the pension is divided in proportion to the duration of the marriages.
In Spain, the pension is awarded according to the length of time each beneficiary has lived with the deceased, but with a 40% guarantee in favour of the spouse or survivor on the day of death. In Greece, a divorced spouse is entitled to a widow's/widower's pension alongside the surviving spouse, if certain conditions are met, such as the existence of maintenance and the duration of a marriage. The divorced spouse receives at least 25% of the deceased's pension and possibly higher if he meets certain criteria. On the other hand, in Hungary and Portugal the pension is distributed equally among the beneficiaries. Finally, in several countries, such as Austria, Greece, Croatia, Poland, Portugal and Finland, the divorced spouse is entitled to a survivor's pension provided that he or she has been granted a right to maintenance.
