What happens to a Luxembourg state pension when someone dies?

After an insured person or pensioner dies, eligible relatives may have a right to a survivor's pension. The benefit has its own legal conditions and must be formally requested. It is not an automatic transfer of the deceased person's pension. Read the official survivor pension procedure.

• A surviving spouse or legally recognised partner.
• A divorced spouse or former partner who meets the official conditions.
• Children through an orphan's pension.
• Certain other relatives or relatives by marriage, but only under restrictive household, support, age and family-status conditions.

Eligibility is assessed from the claimant's situation and the deceased person's insurance record. A family relationship alone does not always establish entitlement.

If the deceased was already receiving a personal pension, the general scheme does not require a further qualifying insurance period. If the person died while professionally active, the normal rule is at least 12 months of compulsory, continued or optional pension insurance during the three years before death.

The insurance-period condition does not apply when the death resulted from an accident or recognised occupational disease that occurred during insurance.

1. 01

   Identify the last competent pension institution

   If the deceased was insured under several Luxembourg pension schemes, CNAP says the application should be sent to the fund with which the person was last insured.
2. 02

   Complete the survivor pension application

   Use the current official form and follow the instructions for the claimant's situation.
3. 03

   Attach the core documents

   Include bank account details, the death certificate and a marriage certificate or partnership declaration issued after the death.
4. 04

   Add situation-specific evidence

   CNAP may require education, apprenticeship, guardianship or cross-border documents depending on the claimants and the career.

See the current CNAP application instructions.

The application is generally made in the claimant's country of residence. If the deceased was last insured in Luxembourg, the claim may instead be submitted to CNAP regardless of the claimant's residence.

Where European or other bilateral or multilateral coordination applies, the competent institution contacts the pension bodies in the other countries. Each country decides entitlement under its own rules and may pay a proportional benefit for the periods completed there.

The survivor's pension is calculated from components of the personal pension the deceased received or would have received. The official formula applies different percentages to the flat-rate and earnings-related components.

Personal earnings, replacement income, personal pensions or other survivor pensions can trigger anti-overlap rules and reduce the amount. CNAP determines the result from the complete file.

Eligible children can receive an orphan's pension, normally until age 18 and potentially until age 27 while completing qualifying education or vocational training. The same general insurance-period rules apply.

A legal representative files for a minor. An applicant aged 18 to 27 must include evidence of education, and cross-border applications require a separate application for each orphan when filed with a foreign institution.

Open the official orphan's pension procedure.