Pension ("de réversion") for surviving spouses in the private and public sectors (Law No. 1.594 and Law No. 1.595 of 30 June 2026)

Law No. 1.594 of 30 June 2026 on the survivor’s pension ("de réversion") for the surviving spouse in the public sector (civil servants, magistrates and certain public officials) and Law No. 1.595 of 30 June 2026 on the survivor’s pension ("de réversion") for the surviving spouse in the private sector (employees) (JDM No. 8807 of 10 July 2026) stems from Bill No. 1120 and Bill No. 1121 received by the Parliament on 24 December 2025 and passed on 29 June 2026.

The legislative approach is sector-based (private or public sector), but pursues the common objective of equal treatment between surviving spouses, regardless of gender, with regard to the conditions of access to the pension (part of the pension received by the deceased person that is paid to their surviving spouse).

The laws are scheduled to come into force on the first day of the month following their publication in the Journal de Monaco. They will apply immediately to current situations. Transitional provisions regulate the details.

Note : The parliamentary Committee considered extending the scope of the scheme to partners bound by a civil cohabitation contract (CVC) and to persons whose marriage was lawfully celebrated abroad. The Government stated that "such an extension would require a comprehensive assessment of its financial implications across all the pension schemes concerned" and that "the issue of marriages lawfully celebrated abroad was already the subject of detailed consideration as part of the work undertaken following the adoption of Draft law No. 272 concerning the updating of certain provisions of the Code of Private International Law." (Report on Bill No. 1121).

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Contents of Laws No. 1.594 and No. 1.595

The explanatory statements for Bills No. 1120 and No. 1121 emphasise that the drive to enshrine gender equality in law has already led to the adoption of Law No. 1. 523 of 16 May 2022 on the promotion and protection of women's rights, which repealed obsolete or unequal provisions to the detriment of women.

In this case, the problem is reversed, with inequality to the detriment of men.

Private sector (employees):

Before, Law No. 455 of 27 June 1947 on employee pensions provided for more favourable conditions of access to survivor's pensions for widows than for widowers, as follows:

• The widower xas eligible for a pension either at the age of 65 or 60 if he was suffering from a disability or illness that renders him permanently unfit for work, or from the date of his spouse's death if he had a dependent child, in which case the pension was suspended when the person concerned, aged under 65 or 60, ceased to have at least one dependent child;
• The widow was entitled to a survivor's pension from the age of 50 or from the date of her spouse's death if she had at least one dependent child, and the payment of this pension could not be suspended when she ceased to have this dependency.

While this difference in treatment may have been justified when the text was adopted, given the social context of the post-war period, it appeared inappropriate.

Law No. 1.595 repeals discriminatory provisions and aligns the conditions for entitlement to a widower's pension with those for widows (either at the age of 50 or from the date of the spouse's death if the surviving spouse has at least one dependent child) within:

• Law No. 455 of 27 June 1947 on employee pensions (second paragraph of Article 3)
• Law No. 1.544 of 20 April 2023 establishing a Monegasque Supplementary Pension Fund (Article 10)

Public sector (civil servants, magistrates and certain public agents): :

Similarly, Law No. 1.049 of 28 July 1982 on retirement pensions for civil servants, magistrates and certain public agents, as amended, provided for unequal treatment between widows and widowers, as follows:

• The widower's pension was deferred until the age of 65, unless he suffered from a disability or incurable illness that rendered him permanently unfit for work; when the surviving spouse was entitled to a pension but could not receive it because of his age, the orphan could receive the pension that the surviving spouse would have been entitled to either until the orphan's pension rights expired or until the surviving spouse begined to receive his pension.
• The widow was entitled to the pension without this age requirement.

Law No. 1.594 extends the conditions for entitlement to a widower's pension ("de réversion") to those provided for widows by repealing the additional condition of age for entitlement to a survivor's pension and its receipt by orphans (repeal of the second paragraph of Article 14 and Article 33 of Law No. 1049).

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