Statutory pension
When a self-employed person dies: survivor's pension or transition allowance for the spouse?
By the Finances Indépendants editorial teamUpdated on 4 min read
Summarise this article with
Contents
Survivor's pension or transition allowance: what decides?
Your age at the time of death. If you have reached the minimum age, you receive a survivor's pension, paid with no time limit for as long as you do not remarry. Below it, you receive a transition allowance, which is limited in time. For a death in 2024 the age was 49 and a half; for a death in 2025, 50.
This age rises in steps according to the year of death: check the one that applies to your case with the Federal Pension Service. Both benefits are calculated on the self-employed career and professional income of the deceased spouse, not on yours.
The survivor's pension is part of the statutory pension for the self-employed, described on the statutory pension page. The minimum survivor's pension, €1,820.27 a month at 1 March 2026, applies to a full career of 45 years: treat it as a benchmark, as the actual amount depends on the career the deceased can prove.
Which conditions must you meet?
In principle you must have been married to the deceased for at least 1 year. A declared legal cohabitation immediately before the marriage counts towards that total. Remarrying ends the entitlement, and a legal cohabitant who never married has no right to a survivor's pension.
The one-year rule does not apply in three cases: a child was born of the union, a dependent child gave entitlement to child benefit at the time of death, or the death resulted from an accident at work or occupational disease after the marriage. You must also prove self-employed or assisting spouse activity by the deceased, unless they were already drawing a self-employed retirement pension.
- Marriage: at least 1 year, including any prior legal cohabitation, save for exceptions.
- Career: self-employed or assisting spouse activity by the deceased, to be proved unless they were already retired.
- No remarriage, and no conviction for an attempt on the spouse's life.
How long does the transition allowance last?
From 18 to 48 months, depending on your family situation on the day of death. With no dependent child, 18 months. If all your dependent children are at least 13 in the year of death, 36 months. With a dependent child under 13, a disabled child or a child born within 300 days of the death, 48 months.
The length is fixed at the time of death: if a child later leaves the household, you keep the length granted. You still have to claim within 12 months of the death: a late claim does not recover the months already gone, which are lost. The allowance can be combined with work, which gives you time to reorganise your income without losing the support.
Length of the allowance
No dependent child
18 months
Dependent children aged 13 or over that year
36 months
Child under 13, disabled or born after the death
48 months
What should you do after the death?
File the claim within 12 months of the death: the benefit then starts, in principle, on the 1st day of the month of death. After that deadline it only runs from the date of the claim. If the deceased was already drawing a self-employed retirement pension, entitlement to the survivor's pension is examined automatically.
Plan for tax: the allowance can be combined with your work, but the tax withheld does not know your other income, and the FPS Finance adds everything up at assessment. If you work yourself, the article on combining a pension with self-employed work explains the limits that apply once the survivor's pension is granted.
The statutory pension only replaces part of the lost income. Death cover, in the solidarity component of a social PLCI/VAPZ or in a separate policy, pays a lump sum to the family. The PLCI simulator helps size the premium.
Further reading
The pages on this site that explore each of the points covered here in more depth.
- Statutory pension for the self-employedLegal age, full career and minimum pension amounts.
- Minimum pension for the self-employed: the conditionsA 30-year career and effective work for the guaranteed minimum.
- Combining a pension with self-employed workPermitted income with a survivor's pension only.
- PLCI simulatorEstimate a PLCI and its solidarity component, which also covers death.
- Assisting spouseThe status that gives the spouse who helps their own rights.
Frequently asked questions
The minimum age depends on the year of death and rises in steps: 49 and a half for a death in 2024, 50 for a death in 2025. Below that age, the surviving spouse receives a temporary transition allowance. The Federal Pension Service confirms the age that applies to each case.
No, entitlement requires marriage. A declared legal cohabitation only counts towards the minimum 1 year when it immediately precedes the marriage. A couple who never married opens neither a survivor's pension nor a transition allowance, which is why death cover matters.
18 months with no dependent child, 36 months if the dependent children are at least 13 in the year of death, and 48 months with a child under 13, a disabled child or a child born within 300 days of the death. The length is fixed on the day of death and does not change afterwards.
Yes, the transition allowance can be combined with work, as an employee or self-employed. Watch the tax: the amount withheld from the allowance ignores your other income, and the FPS Finance adds everything together at assessment. Setting part of it aside avoids an unpleasant surprise.
File the claim within 12 months of the death: the benefit then starts, in principle, on the 1st day of the month of death. After that, it only starts from the claim and the months already gone are lost. If the deceased was already a self-employed pensioner, the case is examined automatically.
Yes. The survivor's pension and the transition allowance stop on remarriage. It is one of the general conditions of the scheme, like the minimum length of marriage. A new life project is therefore worth running past a professional, especially when the benefit makes up a large part of the household budget.
Topics covered
Topics covered: survivor's pension self-employed belgium · transition allowance surviving spouse · death of self-employed spouse pension · widow's pension self-employed belgium · transition allowance duration · survivor's pension minimum age · survivor's pension legal cohabitant.
Official sources
- NISSE, Mon conjoint qui était indépendant / aidant est décédé. Ai-je droit à une pension de survie ?. View (new tab)(Official source, accessed on 2026-10-14)
- NISSE, Allocation de transition. View (new tab)(Official source, accessed on 2026-10-14)
- Federal Pension Service, Allocation de transition. View (new tab)(Official source, accessed on 2026-10-14)
- NISSE, Pension de survie et allocation de transition en cas de carrière mixte. View (new tab)(Official source, accessed on 2026-10-14)
Read next
On the same topic
Statutory pension
Minimum pension for the self-employed: what career do you need to qualify?
Minimum pension for the self-employed: 30 years of career, effective work required since 2025, pro rata calculation. The conditions and pitfalls, for 2026.Statutory pension
Combining a pension with self-employed work: what is allowed and what it costs
Retired but still self-employed: when combining is unlimited, when your income is capped, and which NISSE social security contributions you still have to pay.Status
How do you calculate your day rate as a self-employed person without forgetting contributions and tax?
Self-employed day rate: start from your truly billable days, add NISSE contributions and expenses, keep VAT separate. The method and a worked example.