It is important for your dependents to contact ATP as we are not automatically informed about deaths that occur abroad.
Your dependents might be entitled to a lump sum. Dependents are:
- Spouses,or
- Cohabitants, and
- Children under the age of 18 or 21
40 per cent of the lump sum will be deducted as tax for Skattestyrelsen.
If you receive ATP Livslang Pension, payments will stop when you die, i.e. no one can inherit your pension.
See your disbursement in the event of death:
Payment in the event of a spouse dying
Most spouses can be paid a lump sum from ATP Livslang Pension when their partner dies.
If you have made contributions to ATP before 1 January 2002, then your spouse is entitled to a lump sum. The size of the lump sum first and foremost depends on how much you have contributed to ATP before 1 January 2002 and also on your age.
If you have only contributed to ATP after 1 January 2002, your spouse may be entitled to a lump sum of up to DKK 75,000 before tax to the Danish state. In order for your spouse to be entitled to the DKK 75,000, you must meet a number of conditions. The lump sum decreases by DKK 15,000 every year from the year after the deceases's state retirement age. The amount will lapse entirely five years after the deceased's state retirement age.
In order to make payment to a spouse ATP needs:
- A copy of the death certificate
- A copy of your marriage certificate, if you have changed your name in connection with your marriage, we need a certificate issued by a public authority stating the change of name and the date of the change
- Your signature confirming that you were still married at the time of her/his death
- Bank information
Payment to children in the event of death
As a general rule, ATP pays DKK 50,000 before taxes to the state for every child under the age of 21. The amount will be paid if the deceased died after 1 January 2002 and:
- has been with ATP for at least two years
- has paid what amounts to at least two full years of contributions to ATP
If the deceased does not meet these conditions but has paid ATP contributions before 1 January 2002, ATP will pay money to children under the age of 18. The amount is equivalent to one year's payment of the ATP Livslang Pension that the deceased had accrued before 1 January 2002.
If the child is under the age of 18, the money will be paid to the child's guardian.
Which children can receive the lump sum
The lump sum is only paid to biological or adopted children. A partner/spouse's children that are not the biological children or adopted children of the deceased do not qualify.
In order to make payment to children ATP needs:
- A copy of the birth certificates
- Information about who the guardian is for any children under the age of 18
- Bank information
Payment to cohabitant in the event of death
Most cohabitant are entitled to a lump sum in the event of the death. If you die before you reach the Danish retirement age, your cohabitant can receive DKK 75,000 before taxes. The lump sum decreases by DKK 15,000 every year from the year after you reach the Danish retirement age. The amount will lapse entirely five years after you reach the Danish retirement age.
Conditions for receiving payment
- You would have been able to get legally married during the last two years before the death. It is not enough to be separated, and you must also not be close relatives
- You have lived in relationship resembling a marriage
- You have shared the same registered address for the last two years before the death
- The deceased has been with ATP Livslang Pension for at least two years after 1 January 2002 and has made contributions equivalent to at least two years of full contributions to ATP Livslang Pension.
- The death occurred no later than five years after the deceased's state retirement age. State retirement age depends on the year of birth.
In the event that you or your cohabitant have been living in an institutional setting (for example, a nursing home), then the requirement for a shared registered address must have been met for the last two years before the move to the institutional setting.
You must register as cohabitant
The amount will be automatically paid to you if your cohabitant is a resident of Denmark and your cohabitant will receive a letter if you are registered as cohabitant. It is therefor a good idea for you and your cohabitant to register as being cohabitant already now.
Register your cohabitant:
If you and your cohabitant were not resident in Denmark and were not registered with ATP as cohabitant, you need to complete a form to request payment of the lump sum
Documentation
As surviving common-law partner, you may be entitled to a lump sum from ATP Livslang Pension. You must document that you and the deceased had a joint place of residence in the two years preceding the death. Here, you can read what ATP Livslang Pension requires as documentation from different countries.
Documentation for joint place of residence in Sweden
You must order a population registration certificate (personbevis) for you and the
deceased from the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket).
Documentation for joint place of residence in Norway
You must order the address information from the Norwegian National Registry for you
and the deceased from the Norwegian Tax Administration (Skatteetaten).
Documentation for joint place of residence in Finland
You must order the address information for you and the deceased from the Finnish Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Väestörekisterikeskus
Documentation for joint place of residence in Iceland
You must order the address information for you and the deceased from the Icelandic Population Register,
Þjóðskrá Íslands.
Documentation for joint place of residence in Germany
You must order the address information for you and the deceased from the local national register
office/citizen service centre (Einwohnermeldeämte).
Documentation for joint place of residence in Spain
You must order the address information for you and the deceased from the local national register office.
Documentation for joint place of residence in other countries
You need to contact a competent authority in your country of residence, which will issue a certificate for the
address, such as a central or local national register office, for you and the deceased. Please enclose the name
and contact details of the authority.
