The Government of Monaco submitted draft law no. 1.121” to the National Council, which relates to “survivor’s pension” for spouses in the private sector. The draft, submitted on 23 December 2025, aims to strengthen equality between women and men by eliminating persistent disparities in survivor’s pensions outlined in the original Bill No. 1.120.
The current survivor’s pension (Law No. 455 of June 1947) outlines more restrictive conditions for widowers than for widows. For men, eligibility is contingent upon reaching the age of 65, or 60 in cases of permanent incapacity for work, except when there is a dependent child. For men, the entitlement begins upon the death of the spouse but may be suspended if the child stops being dependant. Conversely, widows can receive the survivor’s pension from the age of 50, or immediately upon the death of their spouse if there is a dependent child, without risk of suspension of pension payments.
This distinction, historically justified by the social circumstances of the post-war period, no longer reflects contemporary societal changes.
“The Prince’s Government did not wish for the elimination of this inequality to be to the detriment of women, by calling into question the conditions that currently apply to them for entitlement to a survivor’s pension. Therefore, the draft text proposes to apply the same conditions for entitlement to widowers,” said the Princely Government in a recent press release.
Comprising of three articles, the new bill calls for specific changes, including using the term “surviving spouse” instead of distinguishing between widows and widowers. For example: “This right begins either at the age of fifty, or from the day of the spouse’s death if the surviving spouse has at least one dependent child.”
The bill also sets the date of entry as the first day of the month following the date of publication in the Journal de Monaco: “No earlier than 1 April 2024”. This retrospective date means that suspensions that occurred under the old law which would no longer have a legal basis under the new law will cease, and the refund will be made for the period starting from 1 April 2024.
The bill also stipulates that if people who did not meet the conditions to receive a survivor’s pension under the old law and meet them under the new law will have twelve months to make their application.
