Transitional benefit for survivors

Examples of how survivor’s pension and transitional benefit for survivors are calculated.

If you are working, have children, are a genuine job seeker, are going to school or are studying, you may also be entitled to more support from NAV.

Some people may also be entitled to a survivor’s pension from a private occupational pension scheme.

If you have children, you may be entitled to extended child benefit.

If you are in work and have children, you may be entitled to child care benefit for survivors.

You may also be entitled to benefit to cover supervision of children and other family members if you are registered as a genuine job seeker.

You may be entitled to supplemental benefit for a surviving spouse if you are taking an approved education. The education must be necessary and appropriate to help you find work or keep your job.

You may also be entitled to an allowance to cover tuition fees for a surviving spouse. 

Private occupational pension

Many employees are members of an occupational pension scheme through their workplace. Some of these pension schemes provide a pension for survivors, often with slightly different criteria from those that apply to survivor’s pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

If appropriate, contact the deceased’s last employer, if the deceased was in work when they died.

If the marriage lasted less than 12 months, the main rule is that you can receive transitional benefit for survivors for a transitional period of up to 6 months.

If the marriage lasted longer than 12 months, the main rule is that you can receive transitional benefit for survivors for a transitional period of up to 12 months.

If you were married for less than 5 years and you have the daily care of the deceased’s children from a previous relationship, you may be entitled to transitional benefit for survivors up until the month in which the child turns 18.

NB: The care must have started before the deceased died and have continued without interruption. If your marriage and daily care of the deceased’s children have together lasted more than 5 years, you may be entitled to survivor’s pension.

You may be entitled to pension payments abroad pursuant to the National Insurance Act.

Are you going to retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme?

If you move to another country, you do not retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, but you may be entitled to health services in your new country of residence. For more information about this, contact the Norwegian Health Economics Administration (HELFO).

Can you take your survivor’s pension with you?

If you move to an EEA country, you will usually continue to receive your survivor’s pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme.

However, there are restrictions on the right to receive survivor’s pension abroad for certain groups of people. This applies to the special entitlements in the calculation of pensions for

• persons who are the survivors of young disabled people

Survivor’s pension granted under the exemption rules regarding the length of the deceased’s membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme prior to their death will not be paid if the survivor moves away from Norway.

Which countries are EEA countries?

See an overview of the EEA (European Economic Area) countries.

Switzerland and the Faroe Islands are not EEA countries, but the EEA rules on pensions also apply in these countries.

Your obligations if you move

If you move abroad, you must:

• notify NAV
• register the move in the Norwegian National Registry

Please note that if you move abroad, you must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration regarding your duty to pay tax to Norway.

A social security agreement between Norway and the country you are moving to may provide you with extended entitlement to pension payments.

Are you going to retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme?

If you move to another country, you do not retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, but you can apply for voluntary membership. You will get this if you have lived in Norway for at least 30 years after the age of 16 and at least 10 of the years were immediately before you moved abroad.

Can you take your survivor’s pension with you?

According to the rules in the Norwegian National Insurance Act, you can take survivor’s pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme with you when you move abroad if you or the deceased lived in Norway for at least 20 years between the ages of 16 and 67 years. This applies regardless of which country you are moving to.

If your period of residence in Norway is shorter than 20 years, but you have a supplementary pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, you will receive this and basic pension on the basis of the same number of years as your supplementary pension is based on, regardless of which country you move to.

Social security agreements that Norway has with other countries may provide extended entitlement to continue receiving your survivor’s pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme after you have moved to the country with which Norway has a social security agreement.

However, there are restrictions on the right to receive survivor’s pension abroad for certain groups of people. This applies to the special entitlements in the calculation of pensions for

• persons who are the survivors of young disabled people

Survivor’s pension granted under the exemption rules regarding the length of the deceased’s membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme prior to their death will not be paid if the survivor moves away from Norway.

Countries outside the EEA that Norway has a social security agreement with

If you move to one of these countries, you may have extended entitlement to pension payments:

United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Quebec, Chile, Turkey, Australia, Israel, India, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro.

Your obligations if you move

If you move abroad, you must:

• notify NAV
• register the move in the Norwegian National Registry

Please note that if you move abroad, you must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration regarding your duty to pay tax to Norway.

You may be entitled to pension payments abroad pursuant to the National Insurance Act.

Are you going to retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme?

If you move to another country, you do not retain your membership of the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, but you can apply for voluntary membership. You will get this if you have lived in Norway for at least 30 years after the age of 16 and at least 10 of the years were immediately before you moved abroad.

Can you take your survivor’s pension with you?

According to the rules in the Norwegian National Insurance Act, you can take survivor’s pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme with you when you move abroad if you or the deceased lived in Norway for at least 20 years between the ages of 16 and 67 years. This applies regardless of which country you are moving to.

If your period of residence in Norway is shorter than 20 years, but you have a supplementary pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme, you will receive this and basic pension on the basis of the same number of years as your supplementary pension is based on, regardless of which country you move to.

Social security agreements that Norway has with other countries may provide extended entitlement to continue receiving your survivor’s pension from the Norwegian National Insurance Scheme after you have moved to the country with which Norway has a social security agreement.

Your obligations if you move

If you move abroad, you must:

• notify NAV
• register the move in the Norwegian National Registry

Please note that if you move abroad, you must contact the Norwegian Tax Administration regarding your duty to pay tax to Norway.

For persons who are receiving transitional benefit as a surviving spouse before 2024

If you are already receiving transitional benefit, you will keep the benefit for the remainder of your benefit period. If you are also a caregiver for a child under age 18, you may keep the benefit for 3 years. The benefit may be extended by up to 2 years, if you need help finding employment, such as completing an education or work training.

If you were born in 1969 or earlier, you are a caregiver for a child under age 18, and you have had a low earned income for the past five years, you may keep the transitional benefit for 5 years. After that, the transitional benefit will be converted to an adjustment allowance, which may entail that your payments change. This benefit is paid until you turn 67 years old.

New rules for survivors from 2024

The transitional benefit for survivors is being replaced by an adjustment allowance. The allowance is intended to guarantee an income and to help you help yourself in an adjustment period after the death. After 6 months, you will normally be expected to have found employment or be participating in another type of activity, so that you can eventually provide for yourself.

These changes will likely take effect from 1 January 2024.

What is an adjustment allowance?

• A time-limited benefit that normally only lasts 3 years.
• The benefit may be extended by up to 2 years, if you need help finding employment, such as completing an education or work training.
• If you were born in 1962 or earlier and you had a low earned income in the last five years before the death, you may keep the benefit until you turn 67 years old.
• The benefit is 2.25 times the National Insurance basic amount G, currently NOK 266,895, depending on the period of national insurance coverage for the person who died.
• If your income exceeds 0.5 times G (currently NOK 59,310), the benefit will be reduced.
• The benefit is regarded as pensionable income.