Who can receive Survivor’s Benefits?
For what period is Survivor’s Pension payable?
How much is the Survivor’s Benefit?
Maximum Benefit
Survivor’s Grant
How much is the Survivor’s Grant?
How can you claim Survivor’s Benefit?
What is the time limit for claiming Survivor’s Benefit?
Duplicate Rights
Appeals
This gives general information on Survivor’s Benefit provided under the National Insurance Scheme. If more specific information is required, please contact any office of the National Insurance Board.
Who Can Receive Survivors Benefits?
Survivor’s benefits are payable to certain dependents if the deceased was an insured person who was in receipt of or entitled to a Retirement Pension or Invalidity Pension at the time of death. There are three main classes of Survivor’s Benefits: Widow’s Pension, Widower’s Pension and Child’s Pension.
Widow’s Pension
A Survivor’s Pension is payable to the widow of the deceased if at the time of her husband’s death, the widow:
- was pregnant by the deceased or was caring for a child of the deceased under age 16 and will be payable as long as the widow is pregnant or has care of the child; or
- was over the age of 50; in which case the pension is payable for life.
Widower’s Pension
Widower’s Pension is payable to the widower if at the date of his wife’s death the widower:
- had care of a child of hers under the age of 16; in which case he shall be entitled to the pension as long as he has the care of the child; or
- was over 60 years; in which case the pension shall be payable for life; or
- was permanently unable to work and wholly dependent on the deceased; in which case the pension is payable as long as he is unable to work in any regular employment.
Child’ s Pension
A Survivor’s Pension is payable to a child of the deceased who is under age 16 and at the death of the parent was living with the deceased or was wholly or mainly maintained by him/her; or
- a child under 21 in full-time education; or
- a child over age 16, unmarried and totally incapable of self-support.
For What Period is Survivors Pension Payable?
Survivor’s Pension is payable from the date of death of the deceased and continues as long as the benefit conditions are satisfied. Survivor’s Benefits will cease if the widow or widower remarries and when the child is longer a minor.
How much is the Survivors Benefit?
The amount of Survivor’s Benefit is based on the earnings of the person who died. The more he or she paid into the National Insurance Scheme, the higher the benefit will be.
When calculating Survivor’s Pension, the best three years of contributions in the last ten years of the deceased’s working life is considered.
Here is how your Survivor’s Benefit is calculated:
Step 1 – We find out the earnings of your last ten years of employment.
Step 2 – We use the three (3) highest years out of the ten (10) years in Step 1 to calculate your average weekly earnings.
Step 3 – To find your average weekly earnings, we add the earnings for the three (3) years in step 2 and divide the total by the number of weeks for which contributions were paid for that period.
Step 4 – We multiply your average earnings by 60%.
Step 5 – If the beneficiary is:
A widow/widower, the pension is 50% of the 60% calculated in Step 4.
A child, pension is 25% of the 60% calculated in Step 4.
A child that is disabled, the pension is 40% of the 60% calculated in Step 4.
Since pension cheques are paid on a monthly basis, we convert the weekly benefit to monthly by multiplying the weekly rate by 52 and dividing the result by 12.
There is a limit to the amount of money that can be paid to survivors of the deceased insured person per month. The limit is equal to 60% of the deceased’s average weekly earnings. If the total benefits payable to the family members is greater than this limit, the amount of the benefit payable to each beneficiary is reduced proportionately.
A lump-sum benefit is payable to survivors of a deceased insured person if at the time of death, the deceased did not satisfy the contribution conditions for entitlement to Retirement Pension or Invalidity Pension but had paid at least 50 contributions in the Scheme.
How Much is the Survivors Grant?
The amount of the Survivor’s Grant shall be a lump sum equal to twice the average weekly earnings of the deceased for each unit of 50 contributions paid or credited, and is distributed among the widow or widower and children in the same proportion as the Survivor’s Pension.
How Can You Claim Survivors Benefit?
You can claim Survivor’s Benefit by completing and submitting a Survivor’s Benefit application form that can be collected at the nearest Board office. When you apply for Survivor’s Benefit we will need certain information to process your application. The information required includes:
- death certificate;
- your birth certificate;
- your marriage certificate;
the name of your bank and your account number so your benefits can be directly deposited.
What is The Limit For Claiming Survivors Benefit?
Claims for Survivor’s Benefit must be submitted within 3 months from the death of the deceased insured person. If a claim is submitted late, Survivor’s Pension can be paid 3 months in arrears from the date of the claim. In exceptional cases the period of 3 months may be extended to 6 months if the claimant can prove that there was good cause for the delay in claiming. You should apply for Survivor’s Benefit promptly because in the case of Survivor’s Grant, the claimant loses his right to the Grant if the claim is not submitted within 3 months for the date of death.
Where an insured person is entitled to two or more benefits paid periodically at the same time, he shall be entitled to receive the benefit which is payable at the highest rate.
Whenever a decision is made concerning your benefit, we will send you a letter explaining our decision. If you disagree with our decision, you can ask for your case to be reviewed and an Appeals Tribunal will hear your case. If our decision was wrong, we will change it. However, if you are still dissatisfied with our decision, you may take the grievance to the Supreme Court, but only on a point of law.