Abstract
Survivors’ benefits are a key pillar of social security systems traditionally based on the breadwinner model, and aim to protect dependents from financial hardship following the death of the primary income earner. The first regulations for the protection of surviving dependents date back to 1911, covering situations when women were affected by the death of the male breadwinner husband. For this reason, in many countries these benefits were designated as widows’ benefits or pensions. Such a benefit is not an independent pension entitlement of the recipient, but rather derives from the deceased's old-age pension. However, the role of these benefits in social security systems has evolved – in some countries more, in other countries less – due to societal changes marked by rising female employment, increasing divorce rates and the prevalence of informal partnerships.
The book, edited by Stamatia Devetzi and Hans-Joachim Reinhard, examines developments in the legal, social and policy aspects of survivors’ benefits in selected countries, and provides an in-depth analysis of existing international and European instruments that address these benefits. While surviving dependents include the deceased's children, this book focuses primarily on the pensions of spouses. The edited volume comprises a series of independent chapters reflecting the topics presented at the annual conference of the European Institute of Social Security, held in Fulda, Germany, in 2023.
The publication is structured around five main themes. Chapters 2 and 3 serve as introductory chapters to the theme of survivors’ benefits. More specifically, Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive overview of the functions, regulatory instruments and structure (scope of and grounds for entitlement) of existing survivors’ benefit systems, with a selective presentation of some examples. The three examples given of recent reforms (in Scandinavia, the United Kingdom and France) demonstrate how the role and purpose of survivors’ benefits are driven by national priorities and institutional contexts which extend beyond the countries’ pension schemes. Chapter 3 emphasises the distinctive nature of survivors’ benefits, particularly in how they connect family law obligations with social security systems. In most countries, they still form part of pension schemes designed to address the loss of maintenance following the death of a primary earner. At the same time, their considerable cost has made them a recurring subject of political debate in recent decades. Originally based on the male breadwinner model, these benefits are increasingly seen as no longer fitting with modern family structures. The rise of dual-earner households and a stronger focus on gender equality have reshaped how spousal dependence is understood, raising questions about both eligibility criteria and the recognition of family relationships. Against this background, the chapter puts forward the idea of treating survivors’ benefits as transitional support – an interesting, if not new, perspective (and an approach already adopted in some jurisdictions, as illustrated in the following chapters). Taken together, the opening chapters set out the key legal concepts and core considerations shaping the evolution and regulatory trends of survivors’ benefits, and are at the same time clearly and comprehensibly written.
The second central topic of the book includes Chapter 4, which brings the perspective of international and European law. This chapter analyses the international and European legally established guarantees – with a focus on the ILO and the Council of Europe systems – and categorises them in three generations (based on chronological criteria). Moreover, the chapter evaluates the degree to which these guarantees may hinder (potential) adjustments to existing survivors’ benefit schemes in response to socio-economic developments. After conducting an extensive intergenerational comparative analysis of these standards, the author concludes, based on convincing argumentation, that these schemes largely fail to reflect ongoing societal changes, even though countries are responding – or intend to respond – by adapting their survivors’ benefit systems accordingly.
The third key subject of the edited volume is an empirical overview of national trends in the design of survivors’ benefits, based on a comparison of the key parameters of the current legal frameworks in around 50 countries worldwide (Chapter 5). Certain sections of this chapter are highly technical and need to be read in conjunction with the research already conducted by the International Social Security Association. 1
The fourth core theme is the impact of divorce and the dissolution of marriage on entitlements to survivors’ benefits (Chapter 6). The author explains how different systems work in cases of divorce, and identifies the gaps in the social security schemes for the surviving divorced partners. The measures/solutions adopted to address these gaps are then classified under inheritance (e.g. social security claims are included in the deceased's estate) or family law regulations (maintenance, surviving spouse or divorced spouse solutions). It would have been interesting to know in which countries these solutions are currently being applied.
The last section of the book includes four case studies (Chapters 7–10) describing experiences of and recent developments in Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and Spain. In Chapter 7, the well-known European Court of Human Rights case Beeler v. Switzerland (Application no. 78630/12, ECHR, 11 October 2022) is analysed and commented on. In this case, a widower who had left work to care for his children lost his survivor's pension when his youngest child reached adulthood, as required by national law. Not yet eligible for an old-age pension and long absent from the labour market, he claimed discrimination, since widows in similar situations continued to receive benefits. However, his claim failed. The European Court of Human Rights’ decision drew criticism for interfering in national social security, yet it had significant effects in Switzerland, including equalisation of the retirement age of men and women and a reform of survivors’ benefits.
The equality of gender perspective is highlighted in the Swedish system (Chapter 8). The Swedish welfare system assumes that both spouses are economically independent through employment and occupational coverage, so is primarily individual-based. As a result, survivors’ benefits are limited and mainly serve as short-term transitional support after a spouse's death. Similarly in Finland, the concept of social security is grounded in individual rights (Nordic approach 2 ). In this country, survivors’ pensions play a crucial role in alleviating poverty among elderly women (Chapter 9). There were several issues in the past (such as the fact that the system had become outdated and did not cover most of the working-age population, while also excluding single people and persons in a non-formalised cohabitating relationship); these were addressed with the 2022 reform/modernisation of survivors’ pensions. The Spanish system takes a progressive approach to the diversified relationship bond (divorced, separated, same-sex, de facto couples) which grants eligibility for survivors’ benefits, and this is reflected in Spanish legislation and case law (Chapter 10). Additional survivors’ benefits (apart from the orphans’ and spouse's pension) aim to address situations of severe vulnerability and prevent extreme poverty.
The book is aimed primarily, but not exclusively, at experts in social security law and policy. This publication is highly recommended and particularly valuable as it provides a well-structured basis for analysing how survivors’ benefit schemes may be adapted in response to the evolving complex role of social security. Its combination of comparative country-specific examples and references to the case law of the European Court of Human Rights makes it a useful tool for gaining an in-depth understanding of both national developments and the broader legal framework.
