Gjenlevendepensjon – survivor’s pension for the loss of a partner with shared children

Gjenlevendepensjon – survivor’s pension

Gjenlevendepensjon guarantees income in the event of the loss of a spouse or life partner with whom you have shared children.

NOTE: Gjenlevendepensjon has been withdrawn by NAV. Instead, you can apply for Omstillingsstønad! Call us about this: +47 21 38 38 21. We answer Mon.-Fri. 9:00-21:00

1. Eligibility criteria

You may be entitled to survivor’s pension if:

• at the time of death you were married (including separated), and the marriage had lasted at least 5 years,
• at the time of death you were married (including separated) and you have/had shared children,
• you lived together at the time of death and you have/had shared children at the time of death,
• you lived in a cohabiting relationship for more than 5 years, and you were previously married
• you divorced the deceased and did not enter into a new marriage, and the spouse died within 5 years of the divorce, and the marriage had lasted at least 25 years or at least 15 years if you had shared children
• you were cohabiting with the deceased, had shared children and the cohabitation lasted at least 15 years, and the separation was at most 5 years before death.

The deceased must have been a member of the social security system for the last 5 years before death.

2. Benefit amount

Survivor’s pension is calculated on the basis of the deceased’s income and is reduced depending on the applicant’s income.

So the amount of gjenlevendepensjon depends on two factors:

• the amount of pension accrued by the deceased,
• whether you live with a new partner

The amount of the benefit depends on the pension and on your earnings. Example calculation:

1. Your annual earnings: 400.000 kroner/year
2. Pension accrued by the deceased: 193.429 – standard rate after 40 years of work
3. Earnings adjustment by 1/2G (as of 1 May 2022): 55.738
4. Adjusted earnings:  344.262
5. Pension reduction: 40% * 344.262 = 137.704
6. Monthly reduction: 137.704/12 = 11.475
7. Final amount of the supplement: 193.429/12 – 11.475 = 4.644 gross per month

3. Required documents

To apply for gjenlevendepensjon, we will need:

• a copy of your passport/ID document,
• marriage certificate,
• death certificate,
• the deceased person’s last employment contract,
• a document showing the deceased person’s annual income.

4. When is the benefit paid?

Normally, survivor’s pension is paid on: 20 January, 20 February, 20 March, 20 April, 16 May, 20 June, 20 July, 18 August, 20 September, 20 October, 20 November and 12 December.

5. Waiting time

Standard processing times for survivor’s pension applications by NAV are:

• 3 weeks, when you and the deceased are residents of Norway,
• 3 months, if you live in Norway and the deceased lived in another EEA country or a country covered by an agreement,
• 9 months, when you live abroad and the deceased lived in Norway.

These periods may be extended if we do not provide all the required documents straight away.

6. What does the service include?

NOTE: The decision on whether the benefit is granted is made by NAV in Norway. The service only includes mediation between you and the office.