How to apply for an orphan’s pension

What is an orphan’s pension?

• An orphan’s pension is a pension benefit provided from pension insurance or invalidity insurance. This is a regular monthly cash benefit.
• The purpose of an orphan’s pension is to provide an income to an orphan in the event of the death of their parent(s) or adoptive parent.
• If your parent or adoptive parent 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, in the event of their death surviving children are entitled to an orphan’s pension.

Am I entitled to an orphan’s pension?

You are entitled if you are a dependent child and your parent or adoptive parent has died, provided that the following conditions are met:

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

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

A child may be entitled to an orphan’s pension after the death of each of the parents or adoptive parents. If both parents or adoptive parents have died, the Social Insurance Agency may (under certain conditions) pay you two pension benefits for each parent/adoptive parent separately.

If the child was in foster care, the child will not be entitled to an orphan’s pension after the death of the foster parent.

When is a child considered dependent?

• ​​​​​While in education, until the end of compulsory education.
• After the end of compulsory school attendance, this may be up to the age of 26 if they are still in education, i.e. they are systematically preparing for a profession.

Entitlement to benefit is not affected by whether the study is full-time or part-time.

• If their illness and health condition require special care according to Annex 2 to the Act on Social Insurance and they cannot study, i.e. systematically prepare for a profession or be gainfully employed.
• If their long-term health condition does not allow them to study, i.e. to prepare for a profession or be gainfully employed.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: An orphan is entitled to an orphan’s pension if they are considered a dependent child, even if they have married or had a child themselves, or if they have moved away from a living parent.

When is a child considered not dependent?

• When a child is studying, i.e. systematically preparing for an occupation, but has already obtained a second level of higher education. This means that they have completed a master’s or PhD degree and thus obtained an academic title.
• If a child receives an invalidity pension awarded due to a reduction in earning capacity by more than 70 %.

From when does the entitlement to an orphan’s pension arise?

Entitlement arises on the date of the death of the parent or adoptive parent. This is the date stated on the death certificate or the day indicated as the date of death in the court’s final decision declaring the parent or adoptive parent as deceased (in the case of a missing person).

How do I apply for an orphan’s pension?

Where do I apply for an orphan’s pension?

You can tend to your orphan’s pension at the Social Insurance Agency branch based on your place of permanent residence, where the relevant staff member will complete the pension application with you.

The branches and opening hours can be found at: 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 orphan’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 confirming 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).

Who makes the application for a dependent child?

• If the child is under the age of 15, the application is made by their legal representative.
• If the child is 15 or older, they make the application in person.

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

The orphan (child under 15 years of age) or their legal representative submits the following documents:

• identity card: the orphan’s valid citizen’s identity card (or passport); if the application is submitted for a child by a legal representative, they will present their own identity card (identity card or passport);

• a document proving the dependency of a child (orphan) who has completed compulsory school attendance and a medical examiner’s assessment, where their health condition is unfavourable and they are unable to pursue further studies or to engage in gainful employment;

• a document proving the dependency of an orphaned child who has completed compulsory school attendance – a confirmation of school attendance.

  If the applicant (orphan) is studying at a secondary school or university in the Slovak Republic, and this school provides data about students in the information system of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, they do not need to provide a confirmation of school attendance. Only the name and address of the school where they are studying should be specified in the application.

  If the orphan is studying abroad, they must submit an application for an assessment of studies by the Centre for the Recognition of Certificates of Education of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic. In the event of a university that is in the European Union and the school is on the list of schools of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic, the orphan does not have to apply to the Centre for the Recognition of Certificates of Education for an assessment of their studies. These studies are automatically considered equivalent to those at a university in the Slovak Republic.

  Further information on how to apply to the Centre for the Recognition of Certificates of Education of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic for assessment of studies abroad can be found on the website of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic: Assessment of studies abroad for the purposes of health insurance companies, the Social Insurance Agency and employers (SK).

• 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.

• If the deceased parent/adoptive parent was still working and did not receive a pension, the following documents must also be submitted:
  • proof of completion of education of the deceased parent or adoptive parent (apprentice certificate, school-leaving certificate, diploma) or confirmation from the school of the period of studies that they were unable to complete;
  • a service member’s identity card or a certificate confirming the duration of military service (in the case of a man);
  • 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.
• The following documents are submitted if the orphan or the deceased parent was born, lived or died abroad, since the register of natural persons may not have this information:
  • the death certificate of the parent/adoptive parent (if the foreign national was a foreign national or they died abroad);
  • the orphan’s birth certificate;
  • birth certificates of children: if the deceased parent was a foreign national or if the children were born in a foreign country;
  • the decision of the competent authority based on which the child was taken into substitute care;
  • death certificate or statement from the civil registry: if the child died before the age of 18, if the deceased parent was a foreign national or if the child died abroad;
  • a document proving the duration of the period during which the child was in the care of another person or institution (only if recognition of care or raising of the child is sought).

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: Other documents may also be needed, depending on what is required in your case (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.

How will the application be made?

• You must be present at the specific time and period agreed in advance at the Social Insurance Agency 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 Insurance 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).

  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.

• You will receive the decision on your pension by post or in an electronic mailbox (eMailbox) if one has been activated.

Your pension may also be paid in advance, but only if you meet the conditions for entitlement to an orphan’s pension; 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 the amount of my pension depend on?

• The amount of the orphan’s pension is 40 % of the amount of the deceased parent’s or adoptive parent’s pension which they were or would have been 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 parent/adoptive parent was receiving, or on the amount of the pension to which they would be entitled.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: If the deceased parent was entitled to two pensions, the orphan’s pension is calculated from the higher of them.

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 parent or adoptive parent earned during their 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 (account of the orphan or surviving parent).

 

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.

 

How is a pension paid if there is more than one entitlement?

If an orphan is awarded different pensions, e.g. invalidity, widow’s, widower’s and orphan’s pensions or two orphan’s pensions, their payment is as follows:

• if an orphan receives two orphan’s pensions, both will be paid in full, regardless of their amount;
• if an orphan receives both an invalidity pension and an orphan’s pension, the full higher pension is paid and half the lower pension. If the amount is the same, half the orphan’s pension is always paid;
• if an orphan receives an invalidity pension and an orphan’s pension and is entitled to another orphan’s pension, the highest pension is paid in full, and half the lower pensions, and if the amount is the same, half the orphan’s pension is always paid;
• if an orphan receives a widow’s or widower’s pension and is also entitled to the payment of an orphan’s pension or is entitled to the payment of the orphan’s pensions of bilaterally orphaned child, the highest pension is paid in full, and half the lower pensions, and if the amount is the same, half the pension that the orphan chooses is paid.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION: If an orphan has been awarded an invalidity pension due to a reduction in their earning capacity by more than 70 %, they will not be entitled to an orphan’s pension (because they are not considered to be a dependent child).

When does an orphan’s pension end?

An orphan’s pension can temporarily lapse – the entitlement to an orphan’s pension continues, but the entitlement to its payment ceases:

• if the orphan ceases to be a dependent child (e.g. studies at a secondary school and decides to work before starting higher education), but they have not reached the age of 26. If they continue to study at a higher education institution before that age, the payment of the pension will resume.
   
  IMPORTANT INFORMATION: After secondary school, the orphan’s pension is resumed only after starting a higher education institution, so it is necessary to apply for release of the payment by a short informal application. In the application, you must state your first name, surname, birth number, address and the fact that you are applying for the payment of a survivor’s benefit. The application must be signed. Proof of attendance at a higher education institution may be added to the application to the Social Insurance Agency (if they are studying abroad it must be, see above).
   
• if the child is adopted (but if the adoption is cancelled, the orphan will be entitled to payment of the pension again)

The orphan’s pension definitively lapses if

• the dependent child intentionally caused the death of the parent, on the date when the court’s decision becomes final;
• the orphan reaches 26 years of age.

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