The term '3-month goodwill period' refers to three monthly payments of an amount equivalent to:

• the last salary received by the deceased, in the event of the death of an employee;
• the last pension received by the deceased, in the event of the death of a pensioner;
• the survivor's pension for the month in which the death occurred and the following 3 months, made up to the amount of the pension to which the deceased would have been entitled as a worker, in case of the granting of a disability pension.

That amount is paid to the person's heir(s), either by the deceased's employer (1^st scenario) or by the National Pension Insurance Fund (Caisse nationale d'assurance pension – CNAP) (2^nd and 3^rd scenarios) under the general pension scheme.

Who is concerned

The CNAP pays the 3-month goodwill benefit to all beneficiaries of survivor's/orphan's pensions who lived in the same household as the deceased until the date of their death, or were dependent upon the deceased.

The following may apply for the 3-month goodwill payment from the deceased's employer:

• a surviving spouse, provided they were not divorced or legally separated from the deceased, or a surviving civil partner living with the deceased up until their death;
• the deceased's children under 18 years of age, and their children of legal age for whose upkeep and education the deceased was responsible at the time of their death;
• forebears who lived with the deceased in the same household, provided the deceased was responsible for their care.

Prerequisites

3-month goodwill benefit paid by the CNAP:

• in the event of the death of an insured worker, their relatives are entitled to a benefit supplement on top of the survivor's pension, for the month in which the death occurred and the 3 months thereafter, up to the level of pension to which the deceased would have been entitled if receiving disability benefit;
• in the event of the death of a beneficiary of an old-age pension or disability benefit, their relatives are entitled to a benefit supplement on top of the survivor's pension (combined with that payment), up to the level of the deceased's pension, for the 3 months following the death.

3-month goodwill benefit paid by the employer:

The deceased employee's relatives can ask the employer to pay the salary due for the month in which the death occurred, plus an indemnity equal to 3 months' salary. Persons who have received this 3-month goodwill benefit can no longer claim the survivor's pension or its supplement from the CNAP during the month of the death and the 3 following months. Indeed, the CNAP will pay these amounts directly to the employer, by way of compensation.

The surviving relative who has received the 3-month goodwill benefit from the deceased's former employer cannot also claim the survivor's pension and its supplement for the 3 months following the death.

In this case, the CNAP will pay these amounts directly to the employer, by way of compensation for the 3-month goodwill benefit paid by the latter.

At the end of the first 3 months, the survivor's pension will be paid in full, without any supplement, to the beneficiary.

How to proceed

The application for the 3-month goodwill benefit from the CNAP is part of the application for the survivor's pension or the orphan's pension from the relevant pension fund.

On the application form for the survivor's/orphan's pension, the applicant specifies the exact situation of the deceased insurance contributor (status, membership of a pension scheme, name of employer, etc.).

Once the application is processed, the survivor's pension and supplement are paid monthly, for 3 months, by the CNAP.

In the event of the death of an insurance contributor employed in the private sector, the 3-month goodwill benefit should, in principle, be paid by the employer. The CNAP sends the employer the names of the survivors to whom the benefit is due, and at the same time, invites the employer to apply for reimbursement of the 3-month goodwill benefit from the CNAP.

Assuming that the employer must pay the 3-month goodwill benefit, the amount of the survivor's pension and its supplement will be repaid to them by the CNAP for the first 3 months, by way of compensation. During that period, therefore, the beneficiary receives no survivor's pension or supplement from the CNAP.

A survivor who has not received the 3-month goodwill benefit from the deceased's former employer can immediately claim the survivor's pension and supplement from the CNAP.

In addition, if the deceased private-sector employee enjoyed free housing through their job, the employer must allow the survivors to continue living in that property, for free, for the 3 months following the employee's death.

The following documents must be produced:

• an extract from the deceased's death certificate;
• an extract from the marriage/civil partnership certificate issued after the death;
• where applicable, a school enrolment certificate or apprenticeship contract for each child between 18 and 27;
• a copy of the guardianship deed for orphans who are minors;
• a bank account identification document.

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