Survivor's pension from the general scheme: conditions, rates of 54 % and income ceilings

The survivor's pension from the general scheme is equal to 54% of the deceased's basic retirement pension. To receive it, you must have been married to the deceased, be at least 55 years old, and have an income below a certain threshold: €25,001.60 per year if you live alone, €40,002.56 if you live as a couple. When the pension and your income exceed this threshold, the official information sheet stipulates that the pension is reduced. Civil partnerships (PACS) and cohabitation do not confer any rights.

This page deals with survivor's benefits from the French National Old-Age Insurance. It does not cover survivor's benefits from the Agirc-Arrco supplementary pension scheme, other schemes, or the situation of people residing abroad.

The three conditions

They are posed by the fact sheet on service-public.gouv.fr dedicated to the survivor's pension of the Retirement Insurance, verified on January 1, 2026.

Marriage, and marriage alone

Civil partnerships and cohabitation do not entitle individuals to a survivor's pension. This is the most surprising point. A couple who have been together for twenty years, with children, but are not married, do not accrue any rights to this pension under the general scheme.

The income ceiling

The information sheet does not specify the year these limits apply. It is verified as of January 1, 2026; the amounts should be checked with your health insurance fund at the time of application.

The information sheet also indicates that, when the amount of the survivor's pension and your resources exceeds the ceiling, the survivor's pension is reduced so that this ceiling is not exceeded.

Three rules govern the calculation of resources:

• The period. The resources of the 3 calendar months preceding the allocation are taken into account. If they exceed one quarter of the applicable ceiling, those of the preceding 12 calendar months are used.
• Earned income. They are only taken into account up to 70 % of their amount.
• Exclusions. Resources do not include income from employment and replacement of the deceased spouse or former spouse, survivor's pensions paid by mandatory supplementary pension schemes to the retirement insurance, nor income from property acquired under the rights of the deceased spouse or former spouse.

The amount: 54 % of the basic pension

The survivor's pension is equal to 54% of the deceased's basic retirement pension. It cannot be less than €4,019.13 per year, or €334.92 per month, for a deceased person who had 15 years (60 quarters) of contributions to the general scheme. If the deceased had fewer quarters, this minimum is proportional.

The surcharges

The quarterly limit for the 11.1% % surcharge can be found directly on the official service-public.gouv.fr website. Beyond this limit, the surcharge is reduced to avoid exceeding it.

The supplement for dependent children is adjusted every January 1st. It ceases if you receive a pension or if the child is no longer a dependent.

If the deceased had remarried

The pension is then divided between the surviving spouse and the divorced former spouses, proportionally to the duration of each marriage. The duration of each marriage is calculated from date to date and rounded down to the nearest whole number of months. Upon the death of one of the beneficiaries, their share increases that of the remaining beneficiaries.

Demand and deadlines

• Where to ask. Online on the official Info retraite website, from your retirement account, or with the paper form "Single application for basic survivor's pension", valid for several basic schemes.
• Agirc-Arrco is a special case. For pension funds not listed among the basic schemes, such as Agirc-Arrco, the information sheet indicates that an application for a supplementary survivor's pension must be submitted to that fund. The conditions for this survivor's pension are not discussed here.
• Effective date. The pension takes effect on the first day of a month, not before the application is submitted nor before the first day of the month following your 55th birthday. If the application is submitted within one year of the death, the payment start date can be set no earlier than the first day of the month following the death.
• The administration remained silent. The absence of a response for more than 4 months constitutes a refusal.
• Variation in resources. The amount is subject to review. Any changes must be reported to the Carsat. There will be no further review 3 months after the date you begin receiving your basic and supplementary retirement pensions, nor on the date you reach the minimum retirement age if you are not receiving retirement pensions.

Taxation and levies

The service-public.gouv.fr information sheet on pension declarations indicates that survivor's pensions paid by the listed pension providers must be declared for income tax purposes. It does not mention pre-filling the form for survivor's pensions: verify the declared amount. Survivor's pensions are subject to CSG, CRDS, and Casa contributions. The rates are not listed here: the information sheet consulted does not provide them for survivor's pensions. The page on the 10% reduction (%) and the CSG (General Social Contribution) on pensions deals with retirement pensions; the application to survivor's benefits should be checked with your pension fund.

Numerical example (fictitious profile)

Situation. Hélène, 58, lives alone. Her husband, Paul, has passed away. He received a basic pension of €1,600 gross per month (hypothetical scenario), with over 60 quarters of contributions to the general pension scheme. Hélène works: her gross salary is €28,000 per year in scenario A and €38,000 in scenario B (hypothetical scenarios). She has no other income in this example.

Issue. What pension can Hélène expect, given the income ceiling?

Strategy. Apply the rules in the information sheet: 54 % of the basic pension; earned income counted as 70 %; ceiling for a single person, with a pension reduction when the combined pension and resources exceed it. For simplicity, we assume that the pension fund considers resources for all 12 calendar months and that the reduction is applied literally to the sentence in the information sheet (pension + resources not exceeding the ceiling). The information sheet does not detail the exact basis for calculation: the result is an illustration, not the pension fund's calculation.

Result.

In both cases, Paul's basic pension of €1,600 per month, or €19,200 per year, gives €19,200 × 54 % = €10,368 per year before the cap. The minimum of €4,019.13 per year does not apply.

In case A, the resources considered (€19,600) and the pension at 54 % (€10,368) total €29,968, exceeding the ceiling of €25,001.60. The document then stipulates that the pension is reduced so that the ceiling is not exceeded: applying this wording literally, the pension is limited to €25,001.60 − €19,600 = €5,401.60 per year.

In case B, the resources considered exceed the limit as stated on the form. The applicable outcome—reduction or refusal—must be verified with the fund.

If Hélène and Paul had been in a civil partnership, the general pension scheme would have been zero, regardless of Hélène's resources.

This profile is fictitious. The example does not take into account any increases, Agirc-Arrco survivor's pension, or taxation. It illustrates the mechanics; it does not predict your situation.

What changes depending on your situation

• Your relationship status married, in a civil partnership or cohabiting. Only marriage entitles you to a pension from the general scheme.
• Your life as a couple or alone : the ceiling increases from €25,001.60 to €40,002.56.
• Your business income They count at 70 %. The deceased spouse's income is excluded. Beyond the ceiling, the pension is reduced.
• Your children Three children qualify for the 10 % supplement. One dependent child may qualify for a flat-rate supplement.
• Your age : 55 years for the pension, 67 years for the 11.1 % increase.
• The marriages of the deceased : a remarriage entails a division in proportion to the durations.
• Other regimes : the deceased's supplementary pension follows its own rules, upon separate application.

The rule depends on your situation. No results are guaranteed.