Norway - Benefits for survivors
This section provides information about benefits for relatives, such as survivor's pensions (pensjon til gjenlevende ektefelle) and children's pensions (barnepensjon), and what conditions apply to the benefits.
Regarding the UK the EEA/EFTA-UK Separation Agreement or the Convention on Social Security between Norway and the UK is applied.
In what situation can I claim?
Survivor's pension
If you lose a spouse or partner with whom you have been married or in a registered partnership for at least five years or if you had children with the deceased, you may be entitled to a survivor's pension. The same applies if you lose a cohabitant with whom you had previously been married or had children with.
Children's pension
If you are under the age of 18 and have lost one or both parents, or under the age of 20, have lost both parents and are in education, you are entitled to a children's pension.
Funeral grant
If you need assistance to pay for a funeral for the deceased, you may be entitled to a funeral grant.
What conditions do I need to meet?
All benefits require the deceased to have been a member of the National Insurance Scheme for at least 5 years before they died, with the exception of the funeral grant, which requires the deceased to have been a member at the time of death.
Survivor's pension
The deceased must have been a member of the National Insurance Scheme or have been receiving a pension from the National Insurance Scheme for the last 5 years prior to their death.
If the deceased was receiving a supplementary pension, the spouse does not need to be a member of the National Insurance Scheme in order to be entitled to the pension.
If either the deceased or the spouse/registered partner has been resident in Norway for at least 20 years, the surviving spouse/registered partner does not need to be a member of the National Insurance Scheme in order to be entitled to the pension.
You must have been married/shared the care of a child for at least 5 years. (This requirement does not apply if the death was a result of an occupational injury or occupational illness.)
In order to receive benefits after a divorce, you must have been married for at least 25 years, or 15 years if you had a child together, and the death must have occurred less than 5 years after the divorce.
(Even if you are not entitled to a survivor's pension, you may be entitled to a transitional benefit if you fulfil the conditions of that benefit.)
Children's pension
You must be under the age of 18 and have lost one or both parents.
Or you must be in education, under the age of 20 and have lost both parents.
Or you must be under the age of 21 and have lost one parent through an occupational injury or occupational illness.
Funeral grant
The deceased must have been a member of the National Insurance Scheme at the time of death.
The funeral grant is means-tested, which means that there must be a real need for financial assistance to arrange a funeral for the deceased.
What am I entitled to and how can I claim?
Survivor's pension
The survivor's pension is made up of a basic pension (equivalent to the Basic Amount), plus 55% of the supplementary pension (retirement pension or disability pension) to which the deceased was entitled.
The pension is reduced if the deceased's period of national insurance cover was less than 40 years.
If you have or can be expected to have an income which is more than 50% of the annual Basic Amount, the survivor's pension will make up the difference between a full pension and 40% of the income.
If you are caring for a child under the age of 18, you may also be entitled to other family benefits.
If you are resident in Norway, you must submit an application to NAV or contact your local NAV office.
If you are resident in another EEA country, you must contact the social security authorities in your country of residence.
Children's pension
If one parent has died, the eldest child receives 0.4 G, NOK 42 560 at the current Basic Amount, while the other children receive 0.25 G, NOK 26 600 at the current Basic Amount. The combined pension is shared equally between the children.
If both parents have died, the eldest child receives a pension equivalent to the amount that the parent with the highest survivor's pension would have received. The second child receives 0.4 G annually, while the remaining children receive 0.25 G. The combined pension is shared equally among the children.
The pension is reduced if the deceased's period of national insurance cover was less than 40 years.
The children's pension is usually payable until a child is 18 years old.
In most cases, you can still receive a children's pension if you move to another EEA country.
If you live in Norway, you must submit an application to NAV.
If you are resident in another EEA country, you must contact the social security authorities in your country of residence.
Funeral grant
The maximum funeral grant is NOK 26 011. The grant is means-tested.
If the deceased was under the age of 18, a full funeral grant of up to NOK 26 011 will be granted to cover the funeral expenses.
However, if the deceased was over the age of 18, the amount is offset against savings, any occupational pension that was paid in the month after the death and any money received from insurance policies.
Costs relating to the necessary transport of the coffin may also be covered, if the transport is more than 20 km and the costs are in excess of the co‑payment amount of NOK 2 601.
In order to receive a funeral grant, you must submit an application to NAV.
Jargon busters
- G: Abbreviation for National Insurance Basic Amount (see Basic Amount below). 1 G = 1 x Basic Amount, 2 G = 2 x Basic Amount, etc.;
- Basic Amount: A standard amount that is used to calculate benefits and pensions, and which is set on 1 May each year. As of 1 May 2021, the Basic Amount is NOK 106 399, or about EUR 10 672.
Know your rights
The links below direct you to websites that describe your legal rights, but they are not part of the European Commission's websites. The Commission is therefore not responsible for the content.
- National Insurance Act - funeral grant (in Norwegian only)
- National Insurance Act - children's pension (in Norwegian only)
- National Insurance Act - benefits for surviving spouse (in Norwegian only)
The Commission's publications and websites:
Who do you need to contact?
If you are resident in Norway, you must contact NAV: Via NAV's website https://www.nav.no/en/Home, or at your local NAV office.
If you live in another EEA country, you must contact the social security authorities in your country of residence.