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SURVIVOR’S PENSION

Eligibility conditions

The right to survivor’s pension can be performed by the family members:

1) of a deceased insured person who has completed at least 5 years of insurance coverage or having met the eligibility conditions for disability pension, and
2) of a deceased beneficiary of old-age or disability pension.

A widow is eligible for survivor’s pension if:

− having turned 53 years of age until her spouse’s death, or
− having become fully disabled for work until her spouse’s death or within one year of her spouse’s death, or
− one or more children are left after her spouse’s death and are entitled to survivor’s pension, and the widow performs parental duties towards the child/children. The widow who within the duration of the right stemming from having one or more children entitled to survivor’s pension becomes fully disabled for work, maintains the right to survivor’s pension during the period of being fully disabled for work.

A widow not having turned 53 years of age until her spouse’s death, but having turned 45, becomes eligible for survivor’s pension upon turning 53 years of age.

A widower is eligible for the survivor’s pension if:

− having turned 58 years of age until his spouse’s death, or
− having become fully disabled for work until his spouse’s death or within one year of his spouse’s death, or
− one or more children are left after his spouse’s death and are entitled to survivor’s pension, and the widower performs parental duties towards the child/children. The widower who within the duration of the right stemming from having one or more children entitled to survivor’s pension becomes fully disabled for work, maintains the right to survivor’s pension during the period of being fully disabled for work.

The latest amendments to the law have introduced a new eligibility condition in relation to the conditions for exercising the right of widows/widowers to survivor’s pension. The amendments stipulate that if a deceased insured person or a deceased beneficiary of old-age or disability pension has at the moment of getting married turned 65 (men) and 60 (women) years of age, their spouse can become eligible for survivor’s pension if they have a joint child or if the marriage has lasted at least two years.

A divorced spouse is eligible for survivor’s pension if the right to alimony is determined by a judgement rendered by a court.

According to the regulations on the Serbian Armed Forces, the spouse of a professional military service man who has died during his/her military engagement acquires the right to survivor’s pension regardless of the prescribed years of age, provided that he/she has not entered into another marriage, or, if having children, that the children have completed their education.

A child becomes eligible for survivor’s pension and is entitled to it until turning 15 yeras of age.

After turning 15 years of age, the child becomes eligible for survivor’s pension and is entitled to it throughout the duration of his education, but not later than turning:

− 20, if attending a secondary school and
− 26 if attending post-secondary education.

A child incapable of self-sustainable living and unable to work becomes eligible for the survivor’s pension and is entitled to it throughout the duration of incapability, if it develops until the age until which children are eligible for survivor’s pension.

A child incapable of self-sustainable living and unable to work becomes eligible for the survivor’s pension and is entitled to it throughout the duration of incapability, if it appears after the age until which children are eligible for survivor’s pension, but before the death of the insured person, that is, the beneficiary of the right, under the condition that the insured person, that is, the beneficiary of the right supported the child until his/her own death.

A child whose education has been interrupted due to an illness is eligible for the survivor’s pension throughout the duration of the illness until the prescribed years of age, as well as above that age, but not longer than the period of time lost in education due to the illness.

A child whose education has been interrupted due to compulsory military service is eligible for survivor’s pension during serving the service, but not later than upon turning 27 years of age.

A child with disability, in accordance with the regulations on classification of handicapped children, and a child incapable of self-sustainable living and unable to work, acquires the right to survivor’s pension after the cessation of employment or self-employment if the incapability occurred after the age until which a child is considered eligible for survivor’s pension, but before the death of the insured person or the beneficiary of the right, provided that the insured person or the beneficiary of the right maintained the child until his death.

A  parents of insured person, that is, a parents of the beneficiary of the right (father  and mother, step father and and step mother and adoptive parent), supported by the insured person/beneficiary until his/her own death, becomes eligible for the survivor’s pension if:

− having turned 65 (man) or 60 (woman) years of age, or
− having become fully disabled to work, before the insured person’s/beneficiary’s death.

Transitory period

In the transitory period stipulated by the law, a widow, a widower and a parent become eligible to survivor’s pension under more favourable conditions, being the following:

A widow:

− in 2011, 50 years of age;
− in 2012, 50 years and six months of age;
− in 2013, 51 years of age
− in 2014, 51 years and six months of age;
− in 2015, 52 years of age and
− in 2016, 52 years and six months of age.

A widower:

− in 2011, 55 years of age;
− in 2012, 55 years and six months of age;
− in 2013, 56 years of age;
− in 2014, 56 years and six months of age;
− in 2015, 57 years of age and
− iin 2016, 57 years and six months of age.

The procedure of exercising the right

The procedure of exercising the right to survivor’s pension is initiated at personal request by submitting an application and enclosing:

• Extract from the register of deaths (in original or as a certified photocopy)
• Extract from the register of births, or personal ID card photocopy
• Extract from the register of marriages issued after the death of the insured person, that is, beneficiary of the right
• Legally binding judgement on the divorce and awarded alimony for the divorced spouse
• Proof of education (for children older than 15)
• Form no. 1 issued by the chosen physician, along with the original medical documentation (specialist’s reports, scans, discharge certificates, etc.) for persons incapable of self-sustainable living and unable to work. For children incapable of self-sustainable living and unable to work, the decision on categorisation should also be submitted.
• Tax certificate (for the persons submitting the application) on the total amount of monthly income in the quarter prior to the death of the insured person, that is, beneficiary of the right, as well as the names and addresses of persons who can confirm the fact of sustaining support in cases when the support is an eligibility condition for survivor’s pension.
• Decision on the custody (if the custody exists).

If the application is submitted following the death of the deceased insured person, beside the above-listed documentation, the following should also be enclosed:

• Notification of work injury, if the insured person’s death resulted from a work injury
• Proof of completed compulsory military service (military record book photocopy or the certificate by military authorities) for the deceased insured person
• Photocopies of health insurance book of family members
• Proofs of the insurance coverage period of deceased insured person completed in the Republic of Serbia – concluded work  book, certificate of the reduced service years for retirement, other documents related to the insurance coverage length (decisions, certificates and the like) in original or as a certified photocopy
• Certificate of self-employment to be issued by the competent municipal institution, or competent association or alliance (for the period up to 31st December 2005), or the decision of the Serbian Business Registers Agency (for the period as of 1st January 2006).
• Certificate by Tax Administration on the paid contribution for the retirement and disability insurance (with stated bases for contributions and the amount of paid contribution) for the period of self-employment. The certificate is not required for freelance artists, film-makers and sportsmen for the period up to 31st December 2002, and for the clergy and religious institutions officials for the period up to 31st August 2004.
• Certificate of Tax Administration on the paid contribution for retirement and disability insurance (with stated bases for contributions and the amount of paid contribution) issued for the period of performing work in agriculture.
• Proof of exercising rights with the National Employment Service for family members
• Proof of completed insurance coverage period abroad for the deceased insured person.

Survivor’s pension is to be paid as of the day of meeting eligibility conditions if the application is submitted within the period of six months from the day following the death of the insured person, that is, beneficiary, and if the application is submitted following the expiration of the prescribed period, the payment is to be made as of the day of submitting the application and for the period of six months prior to submitting the application, under the condition that the person submitting the application was not insured in that period.

Survivor’s pension is to be stopped if the beneficiary of survivor’s pension acquires the capacity of an insured person. The law provides an exception to this principle. The payment of survivor’s pension is not to be stopped in the case when the beneficiary of the pension receives at the monthly level the contracted payment lower than 50% of the lowest basis for contributions in the insurance of employed persons, valid at the moment of paying in the contributions.