Equal Opportunities for Older Women

Mainly: CNAV (Caisse Nationale d'Assurance Vieillesse - National Old Age Insurance scheme) ; MSA (Mutualité Sociale Agricole - Social welfare insurance for agricultural workers and farmers)

Law n 98-1194 of 23.12.1998 of the Code de la Sécurité Sociale (Social Security Code)

Witwen und Witwer eines Versicherten der allgemeinen Rentenversicherung oder anderer staatlicher Alterskassen, sofern die/der Verwitwete zum Zeitpunkt des Ablebens des Ehepartners keine 55 Jahre alt waren.

The change to the law was undertaken within the frameowork of the coming into force of the Orientation Law of 29.7.1998 aimed at combatting social exclusion.

The changes apply to four aspects: the duration of the contributions made by the deceased, the duration of payments, the elimination of the degressive character of the benefits, and finally the accumulation of the pension with income from work or from a paid traineeship.

1. A claim to the pension presupposes that the deceased marital partner paid social insurance over three months in the course of the year before that person died.
2. Transition from the degressive three-year pension to a two-year pension with constant benefits. As of 1.1.1999, the monthly benefits amount to 3,144FF (479.30 Euro).
3. If the recipient of the pension has income from work or is doing a paid traineeship, this income can be accumulated with the widow's pension during the first three months, irrespective of the income limit; in the following nine months, 50% of this income is taken into account, as opposed to 100% in the second and last year.

Bulletin Officiel n 99/43, Direction de la Sécurité Sociale, Sous-direction des retraites, http://www.santé.gouv.fr/adm/dagpb/bo/1999/99-43/a0432928.htm

CNAV, 110 rue de Flandre, F 75019 Paris

http://www.santé.gouv.fr/adm/dagpb/bo/1999/99-43/a0432928.htm