I am a widow or widower

Depending on your age, you may be entitled to widow’s/widower’s allowance or a survivor’s pension. We support you during this difficult period.

Reporting the death of my spouse

If your spouse was retired, you must inform his/her regional fund by post. 

You must provide his/her social security number, surname, first names, date and place of death. You must also attach a death certificate to your letter.

This letter allows us to stop paying the pension in due time.

The pension for the month of death is paid in full, regardless of the date of death. Monthly instalments paid after the month of death will be reclaimed.

If sums remain due at the time of death, they may be paid to heirs (descendants, ascendants, collateral relatives, non-divorced surviving spouses) upon presentation of supporting documents.

It is also important to inform the other bodies to which your spouse was affiliated. Find all these procedures on the service-public.fr website.

Travailleurs indépendants

If your spouse was self-employed

See the page “Procedures in the event of death” for all the bodies to contact.

Applying for the widow’s/widower’s allowance

Did your deceased spouse contribute to L'Assurance retraite? You may be entitled to the widow’s/widower’s allowance.

Conditions

Your spouse must:

  • have been paying into the L'Assurance retraite scheme for at least 3 months, whether continuously or not, during the 12 months preceding the month of death;  
  • or have been in one of these situations: in receipt of the allowance for adults with a disability (AAH - Allocation aux Adultes Handicapés), unemployed person receiving benefits, receiving a pension from the general scheme, in receipt of sickness, maternity, disability or workplace accident allowance.

You must:

  • be under 55 years of age;
  • not be divorced from the deceased person and not be living with another partner as a couple (remarried, cohabiting, civil partnership);
  • have an income below a certain threshold. The income used will be for the 3 calendar months preceding death if the start date was selected as the 1st day of the month of death. Otherwise, the income used will be for the 3 calendar months preceding your application. Consult the income thresholds;
  • reside in mainland France, in one of the French overseas departments, in Polynesia or in New Caledonia (exceptions exist depending on your nationality or that of your deceased spouse).

Amount and payment

The amount of the widow’s/widower’s allowance is fixed, but it may be reduced depending on your income.

The widow’s/widower’s allowance will be paid to you on the 20th of each month for 2 years from the 1st day on which the death occurred. If you are at least 50 years old at the time of your spouse’s death, it may be paid to you up to your 55th birthday.

Important

In the event of a change in circumstances (relocation, family circumstances, income, etc.), report this promptly to your regional fund to avoid any impact on the calculation of your pension.

Application

You must apply for the widow’s/widower’s allowance within 2 years from the 1st day of the month of death. The start date for the allowance is set as the 1st day of the month of death subject to certain conditions being met. Otherwise, the start date is set as the 1st day of the month during which the conditions are met and within a cut-off period of 2 years following the death.

You can submit your application form via your personal area. Log into your personal area and click on “View my messages” and then on “Submit my form”.

You will need to print the form, complete it and then sign it. Then you scan it, or photograph it, and you send the file by clicking on "Attach my application form".

You will then be contacted by one of our advisers via the messaging service in your personal area. He/she will give you the list of supporting documents to be attached.

You can also send your application form by post to the following address: 

Carsat Bourgogne et Franche-Comté

Centre national de traitement de l’allocation veuvage

21 044 Dijon CEDEX

The survivor’s pension

If you are at least 55 years old, you may be entitled to the survivor’s pension.

The survivor’s pension is granted under certain conditions, in particular income conditions. It represents a portion of the pension that your spouse received or would have received. 

It is not cumulative with the widow’s/widower’s retirement pension. 

Learn about the survivor’s pension.

You can apply for a survivor’s pension online via your personal area. Explore the “Apply for a survivor’s pension” service.

Did you know?

If your deceased spouse made a contribution in Alsace-Moselle before 01/07/1946, you may be eligible for a widow’s pension under the Alsace-Moselle scheme. For more information, contact the Alsace-Moselle regional fund.

Widow’s/widower’s rights in pictures

 

 

Widow’s/widower’s retirement pension

The widow’s/widower’s retirement pension replaces the widow’s/widower’s disability pension paid by l’Assurance Maladie. It is awarded as soon as you reach the age of 55 by your pension fund. After comparison with the general scheme's survivor’s pension, the most advantageous amount is paid. It may be increased under the same conditions as the survivor’s pension. Information on the widow’s/widower’s disability pension can be found on the Assurance Maladie website: ameli.fr.

Watch a replay of the webinar "Losing a spouse: rights and procedures"

 

 

For more information, see the pages “Procedures in the event of death”; “My Rights”.