Diko MP Panicos Leonidou is proposing a change in the social insurance law so that widows’ and widowers’ pensions are shared among all former spouses and not paid out solely to the last surviving spouse, Phileleftheros reports.
Under the current law, the surviving spouse of the deceased receives a pension, provided they have been married for at least five years.
Leonidou believes this is unfair to former spouses and is proposing amending the law so that if the deceased has been married for than once, then the pension be shared out among surviving spouses (current and former) based on how long they were married.
If the deceased had married that same person more than once, then all the years of married life should be counted and the precondition that they must have been married for at least five years prior to the death of the spouse should not apply.
Leonidou wants the amendment to apply to both widows and widowers. Under recent legislation men whose spouse died from January 1, 2018 and after are eligible for a pension.
