Transitional allowance
A transitional allowance is a temporary benefit for a surviving spouse who does not meet the age condition for the survivor's pension.
It does not matter whether the deceased had already retired or not.
- Am I entitled to a transitional allowance?
- How long will I receive a transitional allowance?
- How much will my transitional allowance be?
- Can I combine my transitional allowance with other revenues?
- Can I combine my transitional allowance with a retirement pension?
- Do I have to apply for the transitional allowance?
- When does my transitional allowance start?
- Frequently asked questions
Am I entitled to a transitional allowance?
As the surviving spouse, you are entitled to a transitional allowance if you meet the following conditions:
- at the time of decease, you do not have the minimum age required to receive a survivor's pension.
Consult the minimum age for every year.
and - you were married for at least one year (or you find yourself in an equated situation).
and - you did not remarry.
and - you were not convicted for criminal offences against your deceased spouse (see article 727, § 1, 1° or 3° of the Civil CodeOpens in a new window).
Situations that are equated with one year of marriage by the law
You were not married for a complete year? You may still be entitled to a transitional allowance if you meet one of the following conditions:
- you were already legally cohabiting before the marriage and the period of legal cohabitation and the marriage taken together lasted for at least one year and was uninterrupted.
or - you were married at the time of the decease and the decease was caused by an accident or occupational disease which took place after the marriage date.
or - a child was born from the marriage or from the period of legal cohabitation that preceded the marriage.
or - you give birth to a child within 300 days after your spouse's passing.
or - you or your spouse received child benefits for a dependent child at the time of decease.
Did you or your spouse work as an established civil servant and did the marriage not last for a year? In that case, you are entitled to a temporary survivor's pension during one year
How long will I receive a transitional allowance?
For the transitional allowances awarded from 1 October 2021, the duration of the transitional allowance depends on your family situation at the time of your spouse's passing.
| Family situation | Duration of the transitional allowance |
|---|---|
| No dependent children | 18 months |
| Dependent children of 13 years (1) or older only | 36 months |
| At least one dependent child under 13 years (1) | 48 months |
| At least one disabled dependent child (2) | 48 months |
| A child was born within 300 days after the decease | 48 months |
(1) Children who turn 13 in the calendar year of the decease, we consider to be a 13-year-old for the entire year.
(2) This concerns a child, regardless of its age:
- for whom you in principle receive child benefits;
- and that is recognised as disabled. A child is recognised as disabled if it is affected for at least 66 % by inadequate or reduced physical or mental fitness due to one or more conditions. For the child benefit for disabled children, this equates with at least four points in pillar one.
After this period has passed:
- you may be entitled to an unemployment benefit if you do not have any other type of income at that time. The period in which you receive a transitional allowance, is taken into account as a period of employment to determine your entitlement to an unemployment benefit.
Find out more about the entitlement to an unemployment benefit on the NEO websiteOpens in a new window. - your entitlement to a survivor's pension will automatically be investigated when your personal retirement pension starts.
I already had a transitional allowance. Will I now receive it for a longer time?
If you were awarded a transitional allowance in application of the old legislation and it:
- ended before 1 October 2021, you are not entitled to the extension of the original duration of the transitional allowance.
- ended after 30 September 2021, you will automatically be granted an extension of the original duration of the transitional allowance. The entitlement to the guaranteed minimum pension will also automatically be investigated.
| Family situation | Maximum duration - old legislation | Maximum duration - new legislation |
|---|---|---|
| No dependent children | 12 months | 18 months |
| Dependent children of 13 years (1) or older only | 24 months | 36 months |
| At least one dependent child under 13 years (1) | 24 months | 48 months |
| At least one disabled dependent child (2) | 24 months | 48 months |
| A child was born within 300 days after the decease | 24 months | 48 months |
(1) Children who turn 13 in the calendar year of the decease, we consider to be a 13-year-old for the entire year.
(2) This concerns a child, regardless of its age:
- for whom you in principle receive child benefits;
- and that is recognised as disabled. A child is recognised as disabled if it is affected for at least 66% by inadequate or reduced physical or mental fitness due to one or more conditions. For the child benefit for disabled children, this equates with at least four points in pillar one.
How much will my transitional allowance be?
We calculate the transitional allowance for the most part in the same way as the survivor's pension, on the basis of your deceased spouse's career:
A few differences between the transitional allowance and the survivor's pension:
- the amount of the transitional allowance is calculated on the basis of your deceased spouse's wage. If your deceased spouse's wage falls below the guaranteed minimum wage, we replace this wage with the guaranteed minimum wage.
- the rules for the guaranteed minimum pension apply to the transitional allowance as an employee from 1 July 2022. We will automatically check whether the current transitional allowances have to be raised until they reach the minimum pension.
- the surviving spouse receives the full transitional allowance. It is not shared with orphans or ex-spouses.
- the biennial adaptation of the civil service pensions to the wages of the active civil servants is not applied to the transitional allowance.
Can I combine my transitional allowance with other revenues?
Can I combine my transitional allowance with other revenues?
- professional activity;
- benefits for illness, disability or involuntary unemployment in application of Belgian or foreign legislation concerning social security;
- benefit due to a reduction in work performed, career interruption or time credit, Flemish care credit;
- survivor's pension or similar benefit on the basis of the activity of the same deceased spouse in accordance with Belgian or foreign legislation concerning social security.
Find out more about the combination with a transitional allowance
Please note! When calculating the payroll tax on your pension or benefits, we do not know whether you have other sources of income (for example professional or replacement incomes). We thus do not take this income into account for our calculation.
However, the Federal Public Service Finance will take all your sources of income into account for the calculation of your taxes. You may, therefore, have to pay a substantial amount of taxes at the time of the final settlement (tax assessment).
Find out more about the payroll tax and voluntary tax compliance
Can I combine my transitional allowance with a retirement pension?
If your personal pension starts while you are already receiving a transitional allowance, you will continue to receive your transitional allowance until the end of the duration that applies to your situation. After this, we automatically calculate your entitlement to a survivor's pension.
If you already receive a pension at the time of your spouse's decease and if you meet all the conditions save the age condition, you will immediately receive a survivor's pension.
The same rules apply when you combine your personal pension with a transitional allowance as when you combine it with a survivor's pension.
Find out more about combining your survivor’s pension with your pension.
Do I have to apply for the transitional allowance?
You live in Belgium?
You do not have to apply. Since January 2025, we automatically send a letter to inform you about your entitlements when your spouse passes away.
You have not received a letter within 30 days after the decease? Please contact us.
You live abroad?
In that case, you have to apply for your transitional allowance.
When does my transitional allowance start?
- The deceased had already retired?
- In this case, your transitional allowance starts on the 1st day of the month following the decease.
- In this case, your transitional allowance starts on the 1st day of the month following the decease.
- The deceased had not yet retired?
- Your transitional allowance as an employee starts on the 1st day of the month of the decease.
- Your transitional allowance as a civil servant starts on the 1st day of the month after the decease.
Frequently asked questions
You do not have to do anything. We will automatically extend the transitional allowance.
No, the extension only applies to current and new transitional allowances.
If your child turns 13 in the calendar year of your spouse's passing, we have to consider your child as a 13-year-old for the entire year. In this case, you are entitled to the transitional allowance during 36 months.
For the calculation of the duration, we take the age at the time of decease into account. In this case, you thus are entitled to the transitional allowance for 48 months.
Please note: if your child turned 13 in the course of the year of the decease, it is considered to be 13 years old for the entire year and you are entitled to the transitional allowance during 36 months.
Yes, the extension applies for every transitional allowance:
- that is not yet paid in October 2021;
- that is applied for within the legal time limit.
If you remarry, your transitional allowance is stopped, just as it would in the case of a survivor's pension.
We calculate the duration of the transitional allowance on the basis of the family situation at the time of decease. If your child is no longer dependent (you child moves out, starts to work, ...), you maintain your entitlement to your transitional allowance.
The transitional allowance will only be raised on 01.07.2022 until it reaches the guaranteed minimum pension.
You do not have to do anything. We will automatically check whether you are entitled to the guaranteed minimum.