A few hundred euros more can be received each month by former workers.
1516 euros gross. This is what a retiree in France receives, on average, according to the latest official data. An amount close to the minimum wage, after decades of working. This pension varies between men and women as well as depending on the career experience of each person and the remuneration received. Each year, it is revalued on January 1 (5.3% in 2024) to cope with the increase in the cost of living.
However, it is possible to obtain a little more income thanks to a well-known system: the survivor’s pension. For retirees, this involves receiving part of their spouse’s pension if the latter has died. To do this, you must have been married, as civil partnerships and cohabitation do not entitle you to this supplement.
As with the pension of any retiree, the survivorship is broken down into two payments: that of social security (basic pension) and that of the supplementary pension. Unlike supplementary pension, social security only grants survivor’s pension based on the income of the person who is eligible for survivor’s pension. Therefore, some are not entitled to this additional income.
However, this could change this year for certain retirees, without their having been informed. Indeed, the resource ceiling not to be exceeded in order to receive the survivor’s pension was increased at the beginning of 2024. It went from 1,953.46 euros gross per month to 2,019.33 euros. So, if a person who earned more than the 2023 limit is now in trouble for various reasons, they can ask to receive the survivor’s pension.
The texts which govern its payment do not provide for a deadline for making a request for obtaining it. Regardless of the number of years after the death of the spouse, it is always possible to receive part of their retirement. However, a subtlety should be kept in mind: if the request is made one year after the death of the spouse, social security also pays everything that should have been received between the date of the death and the request for reversion.
On average, the survivor’s pension represents an additional 775 euros on the amount of retirement received by a retired woman, compared to 345 euros for a retired man. However, these latest data from Drees, published in mid-2023, are established based on statistics from 2016.