Constitutional Court to Review Provisions on Entitlement to Widows’ Pensions

Kosice, 11 June (TASR) - The Slovak Constitutional Court will review the constitutionality of legal provisions concerning the payment of widow(er)’s pensions based on the number of children raised, as laid down in the social insurance act and the act on social security for police officers and soldiers. The law stipulates that a widow is entitled to receive a widow's pension for two years following her husband's death. After this two-year period, if she hasn't reached retirement age, she's entitled to the pension in certain cases — for example, if she has raised at least three children, has reached the age of 52 and raised two children, or has reached the age of 57 and raised one child. The opposition Progressive Slovakia (PS) party described the current situation as unfair and discriminatory. According to the party MPs, entitlement to a widow’s pension shouldn't depend on the number of children raised. “Childless widows currently have no right to a regular widow’s pension beyond the initial two-year support period following their husband’s death. They must wait until reaching retirement age to qualify for a full widow’s pension,” noted MP Simona Petrik (PS), adding that the situation equally affects both widows and widowers. MP Lucia Plavakova (PS) argued that the number of children raised has no effect on an individual's ability to cope with the loss of a breadwinner. Therefore, according to her, this isn't a legitimate reason for unequal treatment of widows or widowers without children. lin