Death capital paid for the death of a public official

Verified 16 July 2024 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

Rights holders (spouse, Civil partnership partner, child, ascendant) of a deceased public official are entitled to a benefit called death capital. You want to know the conditions related to the deceased person to benefit, its amount, how to make the request? We present you with the information you need to know.

State civil service

Death capital is a sum of money that allows, among other things, the beneficiaries of the deceased person to finance the expenses caused by his death.

The death capital may be paid to the beneficiaries of a civil public official of the State (civil servant or contract worker), a judicial magistrate, a military officer or a state worker.

It is paid either to one beneficiary or to several.

The information differs according to the status of the public official, i.e. civil servant or contract worker:

Official

In order for the beneficiaries to benefit from a death grant, the staff member had to be in one of the following situations at the time of his death:

Contractual

In order for the beneficiaries to benefit from a death grant, the staff member had to be in one of the following situations at the time of his death:

  • In operation
  • In parental leave
  • On leave to serve as a member of the Government or to serve as a member of the National Assembly or the Senate or the European Parliament
  • On leave to carry out a period of activity in the operational reserve or in the civil security reserve or to carry out a period of activity or training in the health reserve or to carry out functions of preparation and management of the cohesion stays of the national universal service.

The following persons may benefit from the death capital:

  • Unseparated spouse, i.e. married at the time of death
  • Partner of a civil pact of solidarity (Civil partnerships) for at least 2 years, not dissolved at the time of death
  • Child under 21 or infirm at the time of death
  • Ascendant (parent, grandparent) dependent on the public official at the time of his death and not subject to income tax

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Deceased with children

Deceased married or past

The death capital shall be paid to the following persons:

  • For 1/3 to the unseparated spouse or Civil partnership partner for 2 years
  • For 2/3 to the children of the public official, with sharing between the children, if necessary

To be entitled to death capital, children must meet the following 2 conditions:

  • Be under the age of 21 or be recognized as disabled on the day of death
  • And not be taxable for income tax purposes
Other case

Children receive the entire death grant.

To be entitled to death capital, children must meet the following 2 conditions:

  • Be under the age of 21 or be recognized as disabled on the day of death
  • And not be taxable for income tax purposes.

FYI  

Each of the children receiving the death grant and each legitimate or natural posthumous child recognized as being born viable within 300 days of the date of death shall receive, in addition to the grant, a child supplement.

The child must have been recognized by the deceased public servant parent in order to qualify for the child surcharge. This recognition may be made either by filiation established in the civil register (in the case of legitimate children) or by formal recognition of the child (in the case of natural children).

This child surcharge is equal to €884.33.

Dead without children

Deceased married or past

The Civil partnership or partner receives the entire death capital.

Other case

The capital shall be paid to ascendants at the expense of the public official at the time of his death. These people should not be taxable on income.

The information differs according to the year of death of the public official and whether or not he had reached the time of the event the statutory retirement age.

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Death of an official between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2023

  • If the deceased was a full-time civil servant, was at least 62 years old and had not yet retired, the amount of the deceased's death benefit is one-quarter of the last annual gross remuneration.
  • In other cases, if the deceased was a permanent civil servant, the amount of the death benefit corresponds to his last annual gross remuneration, including ancillary allowances (salary corresponding to the index held by the civil servant on the day of his death).

Example: In the event of a death in February 2021, the death capital will be equal to the remuneration received by the incumbent from February 2020 to January 2021.

Deaths of a public servant since January 1, 2024

The amount of the death capital shall be equal to the gross remuneration of the official who has died in the last 12 months.

This amount shall be at least equal to €13,600.

The compensation elements considered are as follows:

  • Index salary corresponding to the index held by the official on the day of his death
  • Residence allowance
  • Family treatment supplement
  • Premiums and allowances.

If the deceased official had not completed one year of service on the day of his death, the remuneration to be taken into account shall be that to which he would have been entitled if he had completed one year of service.

The amount of the death capital shall be tripled when the death of the official occurs as a result of one of the following events:

  • Accident at work occupational disease or
  • Attack
  • Attack in connection with the service or because of the official's function
  • An act of dedication in the public interest or to save the life of one or more persons.

Death of a contractor between January 1, 2021 and December 31, 2023

If the deceased was a non-official of the State, the amount of the death capital shall be the gain received in the last 12 months preceding the date of death.

Example: in the event of a death in February 2021, the death capital will be equal to the gains received between 1er February 2020 and January 31, 2021. The amount of the death capital provided by the general social security scheme (with exceptions) will be deducted from this capital.

Death of a contractor since January 1, 2024

The death capital is equal to the amount of the last 12 months of gross remuneration of the contractor.

The amount of the death capital shall be equal to 3 times the annual gross remuneration of the contractor where the death occurs as a result of one of the following events:

  • Accident at work occupational disease or
  • Attack
  • Attack in connection with the service or because of the function of the contractor
  • An act of dedication in the public interest or to save the life of one or more persons.

Where the deceased contract staff member did not complete one year's service on the day of his death, the remuneration to be taken into account shall be that to which he would have been entitled if he had completed one year's service.

Death of a military member between January 1, 2022, and December 31, 2023

  • If the deceased was in the military, was at least 62 years old and had not yet retired, the amount of the death benefit is one-quarter of the last annual gross remuneration.
  • In other cases, if the deceased person was military, the amount of the death benefit corresponds to the member's last annual gross remuneration (salary corresponding to the index held by the member on the day of his death).
    Example: In the event of a death in February 2022, the death benefit will be equal to the member's remuneration from February 2021 to January 2022.

Death of a military member since January 1, 2024

The amount of the death capital shall be equal to the gross remuneration of the official who has died in the last 12 months.

This amount shall be at least equal to €13,600.

The compensation elements considered are as follows:

  • Index salary corresponding to the index held by the official on the day of his death
  • Residence allowance
  • Family treatment supplement
  • Premiums and allowances.

If the deceased official had not completed one year of service on the day of his death, the remuneration to be taken into account shall be that to which he would have been entitled if he had completed one year of service.

The amount of the death capital shall be tripled when the death of the official occurs as a result of one of the following events:

  • Accident at work occupational disease or
  • Attack
  • Attack in connection with the service or because of the official's function
  • An act of dedication in the public interest or to save the life of one or more persons.

Official

The death capital shall be paid by the employer who employs the employee on the day of his death, irrespective of the origin, time or place of death.

The death capital shall be paid in one installment under the following conditions:

  • 1 third to the official’s unseparated and undivorced spouse or partner of undissolved Civil partnerships before the official’s death
  • 2 thirds to the children of the official who are, at the date of death, under 21 years of age or infirm and not subject to tax and to the children taken from the official's home, dependent on him at the time of death, and under 21 years of age or infirm.

The children taken into the staff member's home, considered to be dependent on him, are:

  • Child who has no separate income from that declared by the deceased official
  • Child living under the same roof as the deceased official, holder of the mobility inclusion card bearing the word ‘disability’.

The share of the capital of death accruing to the children shall be shared equally among them.

In the absence of a child, the death capital shall be paid in full to the official's unseparated and undivorced spouse or undissolved Civil partnership partner before the official's death.

In the absence of a Civil partnership or partner, the death capital is allocated in full to the children and distributed equally among them.

In the event of the absence of a Civil partnership or partner and the absence of children, the death capital shall be paid to the ascendant or ascendants who were dependent on the official at the time of death.

The relatives in the ascending line of the deceased official, considered to be his dependants, are the persons for whom the official assumed sole or principal responsibility for maintenance.

This increase is tripled when death occurs as a result of any of the following:

  • Accident at work occupational disease or
  • Attack
  • Attack in connection with the service or because of the official's function
  • An act of dedication in the public interest or to save the life of one or more persons.

A child born within 300 days of the death of the official shall receive only and in any case the increase equal to €884.33.

Contractual

The amount of the death capital shall be paid as follows:

  • By CPAM within €3,400
  • By theIrcantec: titleContent 75 % of the remuneration for the 12 months preceding the date of the death of the contractor
  • By the employer, for the share equal to 25% of the remuneration of the 12 months preceding the date of the death of the contractor, less €3,400 paid by CPAM.

The difference between the amount of the last 12 months of gross remuneration of the contractor and three times that amount shall be paid by the employer when the death of the staff member occurs as a result of one of the following events:

  • Accident at work occupational disease or
  • Attack
  • Attack in connection with the service or because of its function
  • An act of dedication in the public interest or to save the life of one or more persons.

If no priority is invoked within one month of the death, the share of the death capital paid by the CPAM shall be allocated to the surviving spouse who is not legally or de facto separated or to the Civil partnership partner.

In the absence of a Civil partnership or partner, the share of the death capital paid by the CPAM is allocated to the descendants.

In the absence of spouses, partners of Civil partnerships and descendants, the share of the death capital paid by the CPAM is allocated to the relatives in the ascending line.

The shares in the death capital payable by Ircantec and the employer shall be paid in one installment under the following conditions:

  • 1 third to the unseparated and undivorced spouse of the contract-holder or to the partner of Civil partnerships not dissolved before the death of the contract-holder.
  • 2 thirds to the children of the contract-holder who are, at the date of death, under 21 years of age or infirm and not subject to tax and to children taken up by the home of the contract-holder, dependent on him at the time of death, and under 21 years of age or infirm.

The children taken into care at the home of the contractor, considered to be his or her dependants, are the following children:

  • Child who does not have any income separate from that declared by the deceased contract holder
  • Child living under the same roof as the deceased contractual person, holder of the mobility inclusion card bearing the word ‘invalidity’.

In the absence of a child, the shares of the death capital payable by Ircantec and the employer shall be paid in full to the unseparated and undivorced spouse of the contractual partner or to the partner of undissolved Civil partnerships before the contractual partner dies.

In the absence of a Civil partnership or partner, the shares of the death capital to be paid by Ircantec and the employer shall be allocated in full to the children and distributed equally between them.

In the event of the absence of a Civil partnership or partner and the absence of children, the shares of the death capital payable by Ircantec and the employer shall be paid to the ascendant or ascendant relatives who were dependent on the contractor at the time of the death.

The relatives in the ascending line of the deceased contract-holder, considered to be his dependants, are the persons whose maintenance was assumed exclusively or principally by the contract-holder.

Death capital is not paid automatically.

Rights holders must submit a death capital application to the employer administration of the deceased public official.

To do this, the rights holders must provide documents proving that they can collect the death capital (family record, marriage certificate, for example).

Rights holders are advised to contact the administration of the deceased public official for a list of documents to be provided.

The deadline to apply is 2 years after death.

Warning  

For non-full-time civil servants working less than 28 hours a week and who are covered by the general social security scheme, the request must be made to their CPAM and the'Ircantec.

No, death capital is not non-taxable.

Death capital is also not subject to the inheritance tax.

Territorial civil service

Death capital is a sum of money that allows, among other things, the beneficiaries of the deceased person to finance the expenses caused by his death.

It is paid either to one beneficiary or to several.

The deceased was to be in one of the following situations at the time of death:

The following persons may benefit from the death capital:

  • Unseparated spouse, i.e. married at the time of death
  • Partner of a civil pact of solidarity (Civil partnerships) for at least 2 years, not dissolved at the time of death
  • Child under 21 or infirm at the time of death
  • Ascendant (parent, grandparent) dependent on the public official at the time of his death and not subject to income tax.

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Deceased with children

Deceased married or past

The death capital shall be paid to the following persons:

  • For 1/3 to the unseparated spouse or Civil partnership partner for 2 years
  • For 2/3 to the children of the public official, with sharing between the children, if necessary.

To be entitled to death capital, children must meet the following 2 conditions:

  • Be under the age of 21 or be recognized as disabled on the day of death
  • And not be taxable for income tax purposes.
Other case

Children receive the entire death grant.

To be entitled to death capital, children must meet the following 2 conditions:

  • Be under the age of 21 or be recognized as disabled on the day of death
  • And not be taxable for income tax purposes.

FYI  

Each of the children who are beneficiaries of the death grant and each legitimate or natural child recognized as being born viable within 300 days of the date of death shall receive, in addition to the grant, a child supplement.

The child must have been recognized by the deceased public servant parent in order to qualify for the child surcharge. This recognition may be made either by filiation established in the civil register (in the case of legitimate children) or by formal recognition of the child (in the case of natural children).

This child surcharge is equal to €884.33.

Dead without children

Deceased married or past

The Civil partnership or partner receives the entire death capital.

Other case

The capital shall be paid to ascendants at the expense of the public official at the time of his death. These people should not be taxable on income.

The information differs according to the year of death of the public official and whether or not he had reached the time of the incident the statutory retirement age.

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Death of a military member since 2022

  • If the deceased was in the military, was at least 62 years old and had not yet retired, the amount of the death benefit is one-quarter of the last annual gross remuneration.
  • In other cases, if the deceased was a member of the military, the amount of the death benefit corresponds to his last annual gross remuneration (salary corresponding to the index held by the member on the day of his death). Example: In the event of a death in February 2022, the death benefit will be equal to the member's remuneration from February 2021 to January 2022.

Death of an official since January 1, 2021

  • If the deceased was a full-time civil servant, was at least 62 years old and had not yet retired, the amount of the deceased's death benefit is one-quarter of the last annual gross remuneration.
  • In other cases, if the deceased was a permanent civil servant, the amount of the death benefit corresponds to his last annual gross remuneration, including ancillary allowances (salary corresponding to the index held by the civil servant on the day of his death).
    Example: In the event of a death in February 2021, the death capital will be equal to the remuneration received by the incumbent from February 2020 to January 2021.

Death of a non-incumbent since January 1, 2021

If the deceased was an employee of a public body affiliated to the supplementary pension organization (Ircantec), the amount of the death capital corresponds to the gain received in the last 12 months preceding the date of death.

Example: in the event of a death in February 2021, the death capital will be equal to the gains received between 1er February 2020 and January 31, 2021. The amount of the death capital provided by the general social security scheme (with exceptions) will be deducted from this capital.

Death capital is not paid automatically.

Rights holders must submit a death capital application to the employer administration of the deceased public official.

To do this, the rights holders must provide documents proving that they can collect the death capital (family record, marriage certificate, for example).

Rights holders are advised to contact the administration of the deceased public official for a list of documents to be provided.

The deadline to apply is 2 years after death.

Warning  

For non-full-time civil servants working less than 28 hours a week and who are covered by the general social security scheme, the request must be made to their CPAM and the'Ircantec.

No, death capital is not non-taxable.

Death capital is also not subject to the inheritance tax.

Hospital civil service

Death capital is a sum of money that allows, among other things, the beneficiaries of the deceased person to finance the expenses caused by his death.

It is paid either to one beneficiary or to several.

The deceased was to be in one of the following situations at the time of death:

The following persons may benefit from the death capital:

  • Unseparated spouse, i.e. married at the time of death
  • Partner of a civil pact of solidarity (Civil partnerships) for at least 2 years, not dissolved at the time of death
  • Child under 21 or infirm at the time of death
  • Ascendant (parent, grandparent) dependent on the public official at the time of his death and not subject to income tax.

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Deceased with children

Deceased married or past

The death capital shall be paid to the following persons:

  • For 1/3 to the unseparated spouse or Civil partnership partner for 2 years
  • For 2/3 to the children of the public official, with sharing between the children, if necessary.

To be entitled to death capital, children must meet the following 2 conditions:

  • Be under the age of 21 or be recognized as disabled on the day of death
  • And not be taxable for income tax purposes.
Other case

Children receive the entire death grant.

To be entitled to death capital, children must meet the following 2 conditions:

  • Be under the age of 21 or be recognized as disabled on the day of death
  • And not be taxable for income tax purposes.

FYI  

Each of the children who are beneficiaries of the death grant and each legitimate or natural child recognized as being born viable within 300 days of the date of death shall receive, in addition to the grant, a child supplement.

The child must have been recognized by the deceased public servant parent in order to qualify for the child surcharge. This recognition may be made either by filiation established in the civil register (in the case of legitimate children) or by formal recognition of the child (in the case of natural children).

This child surcharge is equal to €884.33.

Dead without children

Deceased married or past

The Civil partnership or partner receives the entire death capital.

Other case

The capital shall be paid to ascendants at the expense of the public official at the time of his death. These people should not be taxable on income.

The information differs according to the year of death of the public official and whether or not he had reached the time of the incident the statutory retirement age.

Répondez aux questions successives et les réponses s’afficheront automatiquement

Death of a military member since 2022

  • If the deceased was in the military, was at least 62 years old and had not yet retired, the amount of the death benefit is one-quarter of the last annual gross remuneration.
  • In other cases, if the deceased was a member of the military, the amount of the death benefit corresponds to his last annual gross remuneration (salary corresponding to the index held by the member on the day of his death). Example: In the event of a death in February 2022, the death benefit will be equal to the member's remuneration from February 2021 to January 2022.

Death of an official since January 1, 2021

  • If the deceased was a full-time civil servant, was at least 62 years old and had not yet retired, the amount of the deceased's death benefit is one-quarter of the last annual gross remuneration.
  • In other cases, if the deceased was a permanent civil servant, the amount of the death benefit corresponds to his last annual gross remuneration, including ancillary allowances (salary corresponding to the index held by the civil servant on the day of his death).
    Example: In the event of a death in February 2021, the death capital will be equal to the remuneration received by the incumbent from February 2020 to January 2021.

Death of a non-incumbent since January 1, 2021

If the deceased was an agent of an institution affiliated to the supplementary pension organization (Ircantec), the amount of the death capital corresponds to the gain received in the last 12 months preceding the date of death.

Example: in the event of a death in February 2021, the death capital will be equal to the gains received between 1er February 2020 and January 31, 2021. The amount of the death capital provided by the general social security scheme (with exceptions) will be deducted from this capital.

Death capital is not paid automatically.

Rights holders must submit a death capital application to the employer administration of the deceased public official.

To do this, the rights holders must provide documents proving that they can collect the death capital (family record, marriage certificate, for example).

Rights holders are advised to contact the administration of the deceased public official for a list of documents to be provided.

The deadline to apply is 2 years after death.

Warning  

For non-full-time civil servants working less than 28 hours a week and who are covered by the general social security scheme, the request must be made to their CPAM and the'Ircantec.

No, death capital is not non-taxable.

Death capital is also not subject to the inheritance tax.