Survivor's pension

To whom?

If someone in the family dies, you can apply for a survivor's pension if you are a deceased family member:

• child under 18 years of age
• child aged 18–23 (and you study full-time at a high school or vocational education institution, an institution of professional higher education, or a university)
• widow, and your work ability has decreased
• widow of retirement age
• parent, and your work ability has decreased
• parent of retirement age
• unemployed widow and expecting a child
• parent or guardian of a child up to three years old and you are not working.

A survivor's pension can be applied for at any time after the death of a family member. We pay the pension retroactively from the day of the family member's death but not more than 12 months before submitting the application.

Survivor's pension is paid by the Social Insurance Board if the deceased family member had acquired years of pensionable service, the required amount of which depends on their age at the time of death.

If a family member died due to a work-related injury or occupational disease, a survivor's pension is received even if there is no required amount of years of pensionable service. In this case, the survivor's pension is equal to the national pension.

How to get?

Application forms for obtaining a pension can be found here.

You can submit a pension application:

• electronically digitally signed to the e-mail address: [email protected]
• by mail to the address Paldiski mnt 80, 15092 Tallinn
• in the customer service of the Social Insurance Board

When you come to customer service, please bring an identity document with you. This can be an ID card, a driver's license, an Estonian citizen's passport, a diplomatic passport, a seafarer's discharge book, an alien's passport, a temporary travel document, a travel document for a refugee, a certificate of record of service on ships, a certificate of return, a permit of return.

Also the number of your bank account is needed when filling the application.