The main entitlement is to a widow's pension, called a pension de reversion, made up of a basic and a complementary pension.
The basic pension is subject to means testing, so that beyond an income threshold the pension entitlement is reduced.
This year, to be entitled to the full pension, the annual income of the surviving spouse (civil partners have no entitlement) cannot exceed €24,710. Where their existing income exceeds this amount, the pension will be capped.
Not all income is taken into account. Thus, only 70% of the professional income of the surviving spouse is used, and investment and rental income of the couple is also excluded.
The minimum pension entitlement is €332 per month, to a maximum of €1,094 per month.
In terms of the complementary pension (pension de reversion du régime complémentaire) the amount will depend on the insurance fund to which the deceased was affiliated.
The general rule, however, is that the pension is 60% of that to which their deceased spouse would have been entitled. In some cases it is means tested (at a much higher level), but in general there is no means testing.
Neither pension is granted automatically. In order to obtain the pension is it necessary to make an application on-line at
The surviving spouse may also be entitled to a capital payment (capital décès), more details of which you can find at Related Reading:
