In order to support grieving families, the social assistance system in Romania offers two categories of financial aid: funeral assistance and burial assistance. Funeral assistance aims to provide financial support to the family of the deceased person so that they can cope with unexpected expenses related to the death. This assistance can be obtained from the National Public Pensions House and is fully funded from the state social security budget.
According to Law no. 263/2010 (the “Pensions Law”), funeral assistance can be requested in the event of the death of an insured person or a pensioner, based on the death certificate of the individual. Among the beneficiaries of this assistance are the surviving spouse, children, parents, legal guardian, curator of the individual, or in their absence, any person who can provide evidence of bearing the expenses incurred due to the death. Proof can be established through documents, including a sworn statement by the funeral assistance applicant, receipts, or fiscal receipts.
Additionally, funeral assistance can also be requested in the case of the death of a family member of the insured person or pensioner, provided that the deceased family member is not recorded as insured or a pensioner in the authorities’ records. In this case, the assistance is granted to the insured person or pensioner whose family member has passed away. According to the law, family members include the spouse, children, parents, and grandparents of either spouse.
As for the amount of funeral assistance, according to the current legal provisions in 2023, it is 6,789 lei for insured persons and pensioners, and 3,395 lei for a family member of the insured person or pensioner. Furthermore, it should be noted that funeral assistance is paid to a single beneficiary within three working days of the request.
The necessary documents for obtaining funeral assistance are as follows:
- Application for funeral assistance;
- Death certificate;
- Identification document of the applicant;
- Civil status documents of the applicant, demonstrating the degree of relationship with the deceased person or, if applicable, proving the role of guardian, curator, or representative;
- Evidence that the applicant has borne the expenses incurred due to the death;
- Medical document certifying the illness that rendered the child incapable and the date of its onset, in the case of a child under 18 years of age;
- Certificate confirming that, at the time of death, the family member between the ages of 18 and 26 was pursuing education in accordance with the law;
- Certificate issued by the employer indicating that the deceased person had insurance status at the time of death, including extracts from the personnel management system (REVISAL), as applicable.
On the other hand, burial assistance is a form of financial support provided by the employer to cover exclusively the costs related to the burial in the event of the death of an employee or a family member of the employee. Moreover, burial assistance is granted in accordance with the provisions in the individual employment contract or internal regulations and is not deducted from the social security contributions, as is the case with funeral assistance.
Furthermore, unlike funeral assistance, this form of support typically represents a fixed amount and does not necessarily require a direct family relationship between the employer and the deceased individual.
Additionally, funeral assistance and burial assistance can be cumulated by the eligible person in the event of the death of the insured person (employee), pensioner, or a family member of theirs who was not insured or a pensioner at the time of death.
➡📞Contact: (+4) 031 426 0745 – office@grecupartners.ro
Ana Maria Nistor – Attorney at Law
