Widow´s pension

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR the entitlement to a WIDOW’S PENSION FROM THE PENSION INSURANCE SYSTEM

OF THE SLOVAK REPUBLIC

Eligibility criteria for a widow’s pension

An insured person is entitled to a widow’s pension if she is a widow surviving her husband who

1) was receiving an old age pension, a disability pension or was entitled to an early old age pension,

2) fulfilled the eligibility criteria for entitlement to an old age pension as of the day of his death or

3) as of the day of his death, achieved the required number of years of pension insurance for his entitlement to a disability pension or

4) died due to a work accident or occupational disease.

A divorced wife is not entitled to a widow’s pension.

Entitlement to a widow’s pension occurs on the day of the husband’s death, which is the day of his death stated in the death certificate or which is the day given as the day of death (or the day on which a missing person did not survive) in a lawful court ruling on a husband who is reported as dead.

Effective as of January 1, 2016, entitled to the widow´s pension are also some widows whose entitlement to the widow´s pension ceased according to the legislation effective before January 1, 2004, on condition they fulfil the following criteria:

• a husband died before January 1,2004,
• the widow´s pension entitlement ceased before July 1, 2003 and
• she fulfils the qualifying criteria to the widow´s pension and its disbursement effective in time of the husband´s death, i.e. on condition of fulfilling some of the following conditions:
   
  • has become invalid,
  • has raised at least 3 children,
  • has reached the age of 45 years and has raised two children or
  • has reached the age of 50 years of age.

Entitled to the widow´s pension according to the legislation effective as of January 1, 2016 is not a divorced woman or a companion whose entitlement to the widow´s pension and its disbursement ceased in the past. 

Entitlement to the payment of a widow’s pension

Entitlement to the payment of a widow’s pension shall last for a period of one year after the husband’s death. After the expiration of such one-year period, the entitlement to the payment shall only last if the widow meets at least one of the following conditions:

• she takes care of at least one dependent child who is entitled to an orphan’s pension after his/her dead parent or who was brought up in the family of the deceased (i.e., the widow’s own child, an adopted child of the widow or a child who was given into care provided by the widow or the deceased husband replacing the parental care according to a decision of the proper body during the marriage),
• she is disabled due to decreased working incapacity by more than 70 %,
• she brought up at least three children (this condition is valid from August 1, 2006),
• she reached the age of 52 and brought up two children (this condition is valid from August 1, 2006),
• she reached the pensionable age.

The upbringing of a child for these purposes is considered as the upbringing of a child from his/her birth until he or she is no longer a minor (i.e., until reaching the age of 18 or until the day on which such child marries, if this is sooner).

If a widow’s entitlement to the payment of a widow’s pension ceases because she no longer meets the criterion for the care of a dependent child or she ceases to be disabled due to a decreased ability to perform a gainful activity by more than 70 % and if subsequently, after some time she meets at least one of these criteria, she will again be entitled to the payment of the widow’s pension.

Effective as of January 1, 2016, entitled to the widow´s pension are also some widows whose entitlement to the widow´s pension ceased according to the legislation effective before January 1, 2004, on condition they fulfil the following criteria: 

• a husband died before January 1, 2004,
• the widow´s pension entitlement ceased after June 30, 2003 and
• she fulfils the qualifying criteria to the widow´s pension and its disbursement effective in time of the husband´s death, i.e. on condition of fulfilling some of the following conditions:
  • has become invalid,
  • has raised at least 3 children,
  • has reached the age of 45 years and has raised two children or
  • has reached the age of 50 years of age.

Entitled to the widow´s pension is not a divorced woman or a companion whose entitlement to the widow´s pension and its disbursement ceased in the past. 

Limitation of action for the widow’s pension

Entitlement to the payment of a widow’s pension or its part falls under the statute of limitations after the expiration of a three-year period from the day on which the widow began receiving the widow’s pension or its part. The given period does not begin to run during the widow’s pension proceeding or during the period in which the participant of this proceeding is dependant on a guardian but this guardian has not yet been appointed.

Termination of the entitlement to the widow’s pension and its payment

Entitlement to the payment of the widow’s pension ceases if after the expiration of one year from her husband’s death, the widow does not meet at least one of the following criteria:

• she takes care of at least one dependent child who is entitled to an orphan’s pension after his/her dead parent or who was brought up in the family of the deceased (i.e., the widow’s own child, an adopted child of the widow or a child who was given into care provided by the widow or the deceased husband replacing the parental care according to a decision of the proper body during the marriage),
• she is disabled due to decreased working incapacity by more than 70 %,
• she brought up at least three children (this condition is valid from August 1, 2006),
• she reached the age of 52 and brought up two children (this condition is valid from August 1, 2006),
• she reached the pensionable age.

If a widow’s entitlement to the payment of a widow’s pension ceases because she no longer meets the criterion for the care of a dependent child or she ceases to be disabled due to a decreased ability to perform a gainful activity by more than 70 % and if subsequently, after some time she meets at least one of these criteria, she will again be entitled to the payment of the widow’s pension.

Entitlement to the widow’s pension ceases

• if the widow marries,
• on the day of entry into force of a court ruling according to which the widow caused the death of her husband by an intentional crime.

The entitlement of a natural person who fulfilled the eligibility criteria for entitlement to a widow’s pension and the eligibility criteria for the payment of a widow’s pension ends on the day of her death, unless Act No. 461/2003 Coll. on Social Insurance as amended by later regulations states otherwise.

Claiming a widow’s pension

A proceeding on the claiming of a widow’s pension from the pension insurance system of the Slovak Republic begins on the basis of a written claim of a natural person (the claimant) who is claiming the pension and its payment.

If the claimant’s residence is on the territory of a different state, to which the coordination regulations of the European Union pertain, or on the territory of a contractual state, the request for a widow’s pension from the pension insurance system of the Slovak Republic is in principle submitted through the institutions of the social insurance system of that state; this also applies to the situation if the claimant does not claim a pension from the pension insurance system of the state, on the territory of which he/she has his/her residence.

If the claimant’s residence is on the territory of a state, to which the coordination regulations of the European Union do not pertain, or which is not a contractual state, the request for a widow’s pension from the pension insurance system of the Slovak Republic is claimed at the Headquarters of the Social Insurance Company in Bratislava; or the claimant can file for it by completing the form “Request for Pension Filled Abroad” (see the Forms on Slovak page: http://www.socpoist.sk/formulare-ohc/48016s).

 Documents necessary to claim the pension from the Pension insurance scheme of the Slovak Republic
 Declaration of Honor

Transfer of a widow’s pension

Pensions are paid in advance to a state, to which the coordination regulations of the European Union pertain, in regular monthly periods and always on the regularly repeated periodicity pay dates. In the case of a state, to which the coordination regulations of the European Union do not pertain, pensions are paid in regular three-month intervals always postponed after the submission of the “Life certificate of the pension beneficiary”.

The periodicity pay date is determined for each person who is granted a pension benefit by the Social Insurance Company Headquarters.

A widow’s pension may be transferred

• to the bank account (maintained in a domestic bank or the branch of a foreign bank) of the pension beneficiary
• in cash if the pension beneficiary so chooses.