Widow's and widower's pension - the application is processed by the Czech Social Security Administration

Hlavní informace

Widow's and widower's pensions are pension insurance benefits intended to cover the loss of income caused by the death of the breadwinner. 

This financial support is therefore intended to help meet the needs of life and maintain the standard of living of widows and widowers after the loss of their spouse. 

If the deceased spouse was not a member of the armed forces, the Czech Social Security Administration is responsible for processing the application for a widow's/widower's pension.

Týká se vás to pokud

You are the widow/widower of a deceased spouse who was not a member of the armed forces and who was also:

• received a retirement pension, or
• received a disability pension, or
• at the date of death, fulfilled the condition of the necessary insurance period for entitlement to a disability pension, or
• at the time of death, met the conditions for entitlement to an old-age pension (i.e. reached the specified age and completed the required insurance period), or
• died as a result of an accident at work (in this case, there is no requirement to have completed the necessary period of insurance).

The issues related to the required insurance period for entitlement to a disability pension are described in detail within the service "Disability pension - the application is processed by the Czech Social Security Administration". Similarly, issues related to the required conditions for entitlement to an old-age pension are described in detail within the service "Old-age pension - the application is processed by the Czech Social Security Administration".

In order to be entitled to a widow's/widower's pension, you must have been married at the time of your husband's or wife's death. The widow's/widower's pension is therefore not payable to the spouse from whom you were divorced, nor to the spouse or registered partner.

Kdy službu řešit

You can apply for a widow's or widower's pension at any time after your spouse's death. You will receive a pension from the date of entitlement and any outstanding pension instalments will be paid in a lump sum.

However, the pension cannot be paid retrospectively for more than five years from the date of application.

The husband, who was receiving an old-age pension, died on 2 January 2014. The widow applied for a widow's pension on 25 August 2020. The Czech Social Security Administration grants the pension from the date of death, i.e. 2 January 2014, but only pays it retroactively for five years from the date of the pension application, i.e. from 25 August 2015. However, if the widow was entitled to a widow's pension only 1 year after her husband's death, she would receive nothing.

Vyřízení služby

Co potřebujete pokud službu řešíte

When applying for a widow's or widower's pension, you must always submit the originals or officially certified copies of the following documents:

• identity card (passport or residence permit for foreigners),
• death certificate of the deceased person (if the Czech Social Security Administration or the Social Security Office cannot verify the data in the Population Register Agenda system on their own),
• marriage certificate (if the ČSSZ or ÚSSZ cannot verify the data themselves in the agenda system of the population register),
• a form requesting payment of the pension by bank transfer to the spouse's account in the Czech Republic, or a form requesting payment of the pension by a person living outside the Czech Republic to an account in a foreign bank or a bank in the Czech Republic.

If the deceased was not a pensioner, the following documents relating to the deceased's insurance periods must also be submitted:

• documents relating to studies or training (e.g. school leaving certificate, list of studies, index, diploma, school certificate),
• documents relating to military service,
• documents relating to the upbringing or care of children (e.g. children's birth certificates, a decision on the adoption or placement of a child), if the information provided by the district social insurance office cannot be verified in the agenda system of the population register,
• documents relating to periods of insurance or substitute periods of insurance which the authority deciding on the benefit does not have in its files.

If the deceased was insured not only in the Czech Republic, but also in another member state of the European Union or in a state with which the Czech Republic has concluded a bilateral agreement on social security, we recommend that you enclose with the application documents on the period of employment/insurance of the deceased abroad, if available. It is not necessary to submit a certificate from the relevant foreign pension institution on the period of insurance of the deceased in the given country. The Czech Social Security Administration will request this confirmation from the foreign institution itself.

An overview of the countries with which the Czech Republic has concluded a bilateral agreement on social security can be found on the website of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.

Kde a jak službu řešit

Step 1

If you do not apply for a pension online, you must, as the surviving spouse of a person who was not a member of the armed forces, apply in person, or on the basis of a power of attorney issued by your representative, to any territorial social security administration or its contact workplace (district social security administration).

An employee of the social security administration will help you to fill in the application form.

In the case of a person who is unable to apply on his or her own behalf because of ill-health, a member of his or her family may apply on the basis of a medical certificate attesting to his or her ill-health, provided that the widow/widower gives his or her consent.

Step 2

The written application is then forwarded to the Czech Social Security Administration, which is responsible for deciding on the right to a pension and the amount of the pension if the deceased was not a member of the armed forces. The processing time is 90 days from the date of submission of the survivor's pension application. However, this period may be extended by the time it takes to investigate facts that are decisive for the right to a pension, its amount or payment and that the Czech Social Security Administration does not have in its records (e.g. undocumented missing insurance period of the deceased in the Czech Republic, period of employment/insurance of the deceased abroad).

Step 3

If the Czech Social Security Administration does not have any facts relevant to the entitlement to a pension, its amount or payment, you may be asked to submit them. You must comply with this request within 8 days from the date of its delivery. You can document or certify the required facts either in person at the territorial social security administration or at its contact workplace or by sending them by post directly to the address of the Czech Social Security Administration or by sending a data message to the data box of the Czech Social Security Administration or a data message with a recognised electronic signature to the address of its electronic filing office. Contact details can be found on the website of the Czech Social Security Administration.

Step 4

As soon as the Czech Social Security Administration has all the necessary documents, it will decide on the application for a widow's/widower's pension. If the conditions for entitlement are met, the Czech Social Security Administration will send you a written decision on the granting of a widow's/widower's pension, stating the date from which the pension will be granted and the amount. If the conditions for entitlement are not met, the Czech Social Security Administration will send you a written decision on the rejection of your application for a widow's/widower's pension, stating the reasons for the rejection.

Step 5

If a widow's/widower's pension has been granted, the Czech Social Security Administration will pay it on the fixed payment date in the way you chose when you applied for the pension, or in the same way if you are a recipient of an old-age or invalidity pension.

Doplňující informace

Jaký má služba benefit

Financial support in the form of a widow's/widower's pension is paid to a person whose spouse dies for a period of one year from the date of the spouse's death.

After one year has elapsed since the death of the spouse, the widow/widower is entitled to a widow's/widower's pension if at least one of the following conditions is met

• caring for a dependent child
• caring for a child who is dependent on the help of another person in levels II, III or IV
• Caring for a parent or the parent of a deceased spouse who lives in the same household and is dependent on the help of another person in levels II, III or IV.
• Third degree disability
• at least 4 years younger than the retirement age for men with the same date of birth or retirement age, if the latter is lower, as defined in Section 32 of the Pension Insurance Act.

Entitlement to a widow's/widower's pension ceases when you remarry.

In the case of a widow's or widower's pension granted before 1 January 2010, the entitlement to a pension will continue after 31 December 2009 provided that

• the widow reached the age of 55 or retirement age, if lower, before 1 January 2010, or
• the widower reached the age of 58 or the pensionable age, whichever is lower, before 1 January 2010, or
• the widow reached the age of 55 after 31 December 2009 but at the time when she met the conditions for entitlement to this pension, or
• the widower reached the age of 58 after 31 December 2009 but at the time when he met the conditions for entitlement to this pension.

Možnosti odvolání

Written objections to the decision of the Czech Social Security Administration in matters of pension insurance may be filed as a proper remedy within 30 days from the date of notification of the decision to the party to the proceedings.

The objection must contain the same information as an appeal under Section 82 of the Administrative Code, i.e. it must first and foremost indicate who is submitting it, what is at issue and what is being proposed, i.e. it must contain the name of the participant and the administrative body to which it is addressed, as well as the signature of the person submitting it.

It shall also state the decision to which objection is made, the extent to which it is contested and the grounds on which it is considered that the decision or procedure which preceded it is contrary to the law or incorrect.

If the appeal does not specify the extent to which the participant contests the decision, it shall be deemed to request the annulment of the entire decision.

The submission of an appeal does not have a suspensive effect if the decision concerns the fulfilment of the sanction obligation of the beneficiary or the employer. Objections are submitted to the Czech Social Security Administration, which issued the decision and also decides on them.

Appeals may be submitted within the specified time limit directly to the Czech Social Security Administration or to any territorial social security administration or to its counterpart - the district social security administration. Therefore, first-instance decisions of the Czech Social Security Administration do not become legally effective upon delivery, but only upon expiry of the 30-day period for submitting objections, or upon delivery (notification) of the decision of the Czech Social Security Administration on objections.

The Czech Social Security Administration examines the contested decision in its entirety; at the same time, it is not bound by the objections submitted and may also decide against the party to the proceedings. Proceedings on appeals must be conducted separately from the first-instance decision of the Czech Social Security Administration - persons who took part in the proceedings to issue the contested decision cannot take part in them or make decisions in them.

The submission of an appeal is a proper remedy in administrative proceedings, and the successful or unsuccessful outcome of the appeal proceedings is therefore a necessary condition for the matter to be considered by the court in the context of possible subsequent administrative proceedings.

However, a beneficiary who considers that his rights have been infringed may file a lawsuit against the final decision of the Czech Social Security Administration within 2 months from the date of delivery of the decision on the appeal. The details of the appeal are regulated by the Administrative Court Act (Act No. 150/2002 Coll.).

The Regional Court (Municipal Court in Prague) in whose district the plaintiff resides or in whose district the plaintiff is domiciled has jurisdiction over the action.

If the person is not domiciled or resident in the Czech Republic, the Regional Court in Brno shall have jurisdiction if the person is domiciled or resident in the Slovak Republic; the Regional Court in Ostrava if the person is domiciled or resident in the Republic of Poland; the Regional Court in Pilsen if the person is domiciled or resident in the Federal Republic of Germany; the Regional Court in České Budějovice if the person is domiciled or resident in the Republic of Austria.

If the jurisdiction of the regional court cannot be determined in this way, the competent regional court shall be determined according to the last place of residence of the person on the territory of the Czech Republic, and if the jurisdiction cannot be determined in this way, the competent regional court in Prague shall be determined.

Sankce

If there is a change in the facts that determine the duration of your entitlement to a pension (e.g. you have remarried), you must notify the Czech Social Security Administration of this within 8 days.

If you receive a pension or part of a pension and the circumstances suggest that the pension was paid incorrectly or in a higher amount than it should have been, you are obliged to repay the incorrectly paid amounts of the widow's/widower's pension.