Romania - Survivors' pensions
This chapter gives details of the benefits due, in certain circumstances, to the children or surviving spouse of a deceased person if the latter was a pensioner or met the requirements to receive a pension.
The benefits described are:
- survivors' pensions (pensie de urmaș);
- death grants (ajutor de deces).
In what situation can I claim?
Survivors' pensions (pensie de urmaș) are paid to the children and surviving spouse if the deceased person who supported them was a pensioner or met the requirements to receive any type of pension paid from the public pension system.
Death grants (ajutor de deces) are paid both in the event of the death of an insured person or pensioner under the public pension system, and in the event of the death of family members who were supported by them and have no entitlement of their own to social insurance.
The recipient of this grant is a single person who proves that he or she has paid expenses related to the death and can be the surviving spouse, child, parent, guardian or, in their absence, any other person who proves that they have incurred expenses.
What conditions do I need to meet?
Children aged up to 16 receive a survivor's pension unconditionally.
Children aged between 16 and 26 are entitled to a survivor's pension until the date when they complete their studies if they are in a form of education.
Surviving children aged over 26 receive a pension for the entire duration of their disability of any category if their disability began either before they reached the age of 16 or while they were continuing with their studies, but before the age of 26.
A surviving spouse is entitled to a survivor's pension regardless of age, in the following situations:
- for as long as he or she is a category I or II disabled person, if the marriage lasted for at least 1 year;
- if the death of the supporting spouse resulted from an accident at work or occupational disease and if the survivor has no income or has an income which is below a certain threshold, which is RON 2,376.15 in January 2023;
- if he or she looks after children aged up to 7 and has no income or has an income which is below a certain threshold, which is RON 2,376.15 in January 2023;
- for 6 months after the supporting person's death if he or she does not meet the legal requirements to receive a survivor's pension, but during this period, the level of his or her income is below a certain threshold, which is RON 2,376.15 in January 2023.
The surviving spouse is entitled to a survivor's pension at the standard retirement age if his or her marriage to the deceased person lasted for at least 15 years. If the marriage lasted for at least 10 years, the surviving spouse is entitled to a survivor's pension, but the amount is reduced by 0.5% for each month less than 15 years (6%/year).
A surviving spouse who is in one of the above situations will lose his or her right to a survivor's pension if he or she remarries.
Surviving spouses who are entitled to a pension in their own right but also meet the requirements to receive a survivor's pension for their deceased spouse may choose to receive the larger of the two pensions.
What am I entitled to and how can I claim?
Survivor's pension
Survivors' pensions are calculated as a percentage of:
- the old-age pension or old-age pension with reduced standard age, in case the deceased was a beneficiary of or would have been eligible to an old-age pension;
- the category I invalidity pension, in case the deceased was a beneficiary of an invalidity pension, early retirement pension or partial early retirement pension, or would have been entitled to any of these types of pension.
The percentage that is applied when calculating a survivor's pension depends on the number of entitled survivors of the deceased person and is 50% for one survivor, 75% for two survivors and 100% for three or more survivors.
Survivors' pensions for children who have lost both parents are calculated by adding together the survivors' pension entitlements calculated for each parent.
Income tax is payable on survivors' pensions with a value in excess of RON 2,000. It is calculated only for that part of the pension that exceeds RON 2,000 and, as the case may be, after deducting the health insurance contribution.
Applications for survivors' pensions are submitted, together with documents proving that the specific requirements have been met, to the territorial pension authority in whose catchment area the applicant lives.
Survivors' pensions are paid monthly by postal order or bank transfer into the personal current account or card account of the recipient, according to the latter's preference.
If the deceased person contributed to a privately-administered pension fund and died before becoming entitled to a private pension, an account will be opened for each of the entitled survivors, known as beneficiaries, in the last pension fund to which the deceased person contributed, into which the assets owed to each of them will be transferred.
Beneficiaries can receive a single payment or staggered payments in instalments over a period of up to 5 years, without owing any penalties, if they do not themselves contribute to a privately-administered pension fund. If the survivors do contribute to a fund of this kind, they can combine their accounts in a single pension fund.
Death grant
The level of death grants is determined annually in the law on the social insurance state budget.
In January 2023, the level of a death grant was:
- RON 6,789 in the event of the death of the insured person or pensioner;
- RON 3,395 in the event of the death of a family member of the insured person or pensioner.
Depending on the status of the deceased person, the death grant is paid upon request, on the basis of the death certificate, by:
- the territorial pension authority, in the event of the death of pensioners or insured persons (with the exception of the unemployed) or the death of a member of their family;
- the territorial employment agency, in the event of the death of unemployed persons or a member of their family.
Death grants are paid within 3 days after they are requested.
Jargon busters
- Insured person under the pension system: an individual whose employer is obliged to withhold and pay social insurance contributions, an individual who earns income from self-employment or intellectual property rights or, in other cases, a person who pays social insurance contributions for him/herself via voluntary social insurance contract.
Forms you may need to fill in
Know your rights
The links below give more information about your rights and obligations. These websites do not belong to the European Commission and do not represent the position of the European Commission on the subject concerned:
Publications and websites of the European Commission:
Who do you need to contact?
Casa Națională de Pensii Publice (CNPP)
Str. Latină nr. 8, sector 2
020793 Bucharest
Romania
Tel. + 40 800826727
https://www.cnpp.ro/en/home