How to apply for a widow’s pension

What is a widow’s pension?

• A widow’s pension is a pension benefit provided from pension insurance or invalidity insurance. This is a regular monthly cash benefit.
• The purpose of a widow’s pension is to provide an income to a widow in the event of the death of their husband.
• If your husband paid contributions to the Social Insurance Agency (they were employed or paid contributions on a self-employed basis or voluntarily, or in certain cases the State paid contributions) and completed the necessary number of years of pension insurance at the time of death, as the widow you will be entitled to a widow’s pension. The same applies if the person died as a result of a work-related accident or an occupational disease.

Am I entitled to a widow’s pension?

The woman who was married to the deceased man is considered to be a widow. Therefore, you can only claim if you were married to your partner.

The entitlement is not affected by the duration of the marriage, nor is the communal living or cohabitation of the spouses in one household examined, nor whether the marriage performed a social function or not.

You are entitled to a widow’s pension if you are a widow of a husband who

• was receiving an old age pension, a invalidity pension or entitled to an early old age pension at the time of death;
• was not receiving any of the above pensions at the time of death, but met the conditions for entitlement to an old age pension; or
• died as a result of an accident at work or an occupational disease;
• was not receiving an old age, early old age or invalidity pension at the time of death, but had completed the number of years of pension insurance required for the entitlement to an invalidity pension.

If you have lived with the deceased man as a partner without getting married and you have children together, they can claim an orphan’s pension.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

You do not qualify for a widow’s pension if you divorced from the deceased husband, whether or not you lived with the deceased man as a partner, even in the case of long cohabitation and common children.

From when does the entitlement to a widow’s pension arise?

Entitlement to a widow’s pension arises on the day of the husband’s death, i.e. the date specified in the death certificate as the date of death. In the case of a missing person, it is the day stated as the date of death (or the day that the missing person did not survive) in the Court’s final decision declaring the husband dead.

How do I apply for a widow’s pension?

Where do I apply for a widow’s pension?

You apply for a pension at the Social Insurance Agency branch according to your place of permanent residence, where you will complete the application for its award with you.

The branches and opening hours can be found here: Social Insurance Agency Branches.

To find contacts when you need to check on the status of your particular case, see the following: Information and Advisory Centre.

How do I book the time for making the widow’s pension application?

• You can book a time in the Reservation System. There you can select a specific branch (office) based on your place of permanent residence. The Reservation System will offer you a precise date and time that is convenient for you.
• Once you have booked a time in the Reservation System, you will receive information about the confirmation of the time, as well as documents required for making the application, contact details for the branch employee who will compile the application with you and whom you can contact in case of queries.

Book your time for making the application through the Pension Application Reservation System (SK).

What documentation is required for making an application for a widow’s pension?

• If the deceased husband was receiving a pension and no longer worked, you must provide the following documents:
  • a valid identity card or passport;
  • a marriage certificate, or a statement from the marriage register if the marriage was contracted abroad and is not registered at the special registry;
  • a spouse’s death certificate if the spouse died abroad and the death is not registered at the special registry;
  • birth certificates of children:
    • if the child has been taken into substitute care, you will submit the competent authority’s decision on the child’s substitute care;
    • in case of the child’s death before reaching the age of 18, you will submit a death certificate or a statement from the register;
    • if the child was in the care of another person or institution, it is also necessary to submit a document proving the duration of such a period (only if you seek recognition of care or raising of the child).
  • The completed and bank endorsed form Remittance of Pension Benefits to the Pensioner’s Bank Account (SK) for sending the pension to a bank account in the event that you do not receive any pension.
• If the deceased spouse was still working and did not receive a pension, the following documents must also be submitted:
  • proof of the deceased’s completion of education (apprentice certificate, school-leaving certificate, diploma, or confirmation from the school of the period of studies that he was unable to complete);
  • insured persons born from 1963 also need a certificate of completion of compulsory school attendance;
  • a service member’s identity card or a certificate confirming the duration of military service;
  • employer confirmations of periods of employment before 1 May 1990 in countries with which the Slovak Republic does not have an international social security agreement.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Each procedure and assessment of an application is individual and therefore additional documentation may be required depending on the facts still to be documented. An employee of the Social Insurance Agency branch can advise you.
Please, check your periods of employment and information about your social insurance via Electronic Account of an Insuree (EUP): Electronic Account of an Insuree.

What is the case if I am simultaneously applying for an orphan’s pension?

An orphan’s pension may only be paid for a dependent child up to the age of 26 who is studying or cannot study or be gainfully employed, due to their severe health condition (see this section for more details: Orphan’s Pension). If a minor child meets the requirements for entitlement to an orphan’s pension, you can apply for the orphan’s pension with the child’s birth number.

How will the application be made?

• You must be present at the specific time and period agreed in advance at the branch at your place of permanent residence.
• Submit all documents that you have prepared in advance which are required for making your application.
• The Social Security Agency branch employee (who has been assigned to you by the reservations system) will complete the electronic Pension Application Form with you, on the basis of the authentic documents and declarations you have submitted.
• By signing, you confirm that all the details in your application are correct.

When will I find out if my pension has been awarded?

• The time limit for deciding on a pension is 60 days.
• This period runs from the date when the application for a pension is completed (pension procedure).
• You will receive the decision on your pension by post or in an eMailbox if one has been activated.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: In complex cases, the time limit may be extended by up to 60 days; however, the Social Insurance Agency will inform you about this in writing.

Your pension may also be paid in advance, but only if the conditions for entitlement to a widow’s pension are met; however, some facts that are necessary for determining the pension need to be ascertained before the decision on granting a pension is taken.

What does my pension depend on?

• The amount of the widow’s pension is 60 % of the amount of the deceased husband’s pension which he was or would be entitled to at the day of death.
• The amount depends on the amount of the old age, early old age or invalidity pension that the deceased husband was receiving, or on the amount of the pension to which he would be entitled.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: You will only receive a full widow’s pension if you are not entitled to another pension. If you receive any other pension, you will receive the higher pension in full. You will also receive half of the lower pension. If the amount of the pension you are already receiving is less than the amount of the widow’s pension, you will receive a full widow’s pension and half the other pension.

What is the basis of the calculation of the amount of the pension?

It is based on how many years the pension insurance was paid and on the amount of gross earnings (gross wages) that the deceased earned during his working life.

How will my pension be paid?

• Pension benefit is paid monthly in advance, always at a regular recurring date.
• Your payment date is set by the Social Insurance Agency.
• The pension benefit will be paid to you to the account you stated when completing the pension application.

 

Can I also receive my pension in cash?

Yes, but you need to apply for this in advance.

How is a pension paid in a social services facility?

If you are accommodated at a social services facility, your pension will be transferred to this facility by a collective payment, unless you apply for another method of receiving your pension.

 

For how long is a widow’s pension paid?

• The entitlement to payment of a widow’s pension usually lasts for two years from the death of your husband.
• After two years, a widow’s pension can only be received in the following cases:
  • if the widow has reached the pensionable age (if she does not remarry);
  • if she cares for at least one dependent child who is entitled to an orphan’s pension in the event of a parent’s death, or if the child was raised by the deceased’s family. This may also be the widow’s own or adopted child or a child who was placed in the substitute care of the widow or the deceased husband by a decision of the competent authority during the marriage;
  • if the widow is invalid and her earning capacity has been reduced by more than 70 percent;
  • if she has raised at least three children; or
  • if she is at least 52 years of age and has raised two children;
  • if she is at least 57 years of age and has raised one child.

When does the widow’s pension expire?

The widow’s pension ends for you

• if you remarry; or
• if you caused the death of your husband by a premeditated criminal act, on the day on which the court’s decision becomes final.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: The entitlement to payment of a widow’s pension or part thereof expires after three years from the date when the widow’s pension or part thereof was due.

Can the payment of a widow’s pension be resumed?

Yes. If you cease to be entitled to a widow’s pension due to the expiration of two years (or because you no longer meet one or more of the conditions), but after some time you meet the conditions again, your entitlement to a widow’s pension will be renewed.

How do I apply for renewal of a widow’s pension?

You apply to the Social Insurance Agency to pay the widow’s pension with an informal application (letter). In the application, state your first name, surname, birth number, address and the fact that you are applying for the payment of widow’s benefit. The application must be signed. The application should be accompanied by a Declaration on Honour confirming that you are still a widow of the deceased husband (that you have not remarried) or proving that any of the other conditions listed above have been met.

You apply for the payment of a widow’s pension at the Social Insurance Agency branch according to your place of permanent residence. The branches and opening hours can be found here: Social Insurance Agency Branches.

You can also send an application for renewal of your pension, together with the Declaration on Honour:

• by post to: Sociálna poisťovňa, 29. augusta 8, 813 63 Bratislava, Slovakia
• electronically (if you are using an electronic citizen’s identity card – eID) via www.slovensko.sk

In case you need to check on your specific case, please contact the Information and Advisory Centre.

For more information, see the PENSION INSURANCE – WIDOW’S PENSION section.