Not married, not paired - hardly any rights

Patricia (name changed by the editor) is 57, lives alone and works in an "atelier protégé" (job for people with a disability). Four years ago, she lost her partner, with whom she had been together for 36 years and had five children. The couple never married, because somehow it was never the right time for a wedding. Patricia actually thought she would still be entitled to a widow's pension, but her application to the National Pension Insurance Fund (CNAP) was rejected because the 57-year-old had neither a marriage nor a registered civil partnership (Pacs).

"When we first met, there was an assumption that if you had lived together for X years and had X children together, you were more or less on a par with a married couple when it came to medical information, inheritance and so on, " says Patricia. However, by law in Luxembourg, only spouses or registered partners are entitled to all these things – as well as a "widow's pension", which the survivor could now make use of. Although Patricia is employed, she only earns the minimum wage due to her disability and finds the legal situation difficult. "My husband and I were never separated, we are not a patchwork family and have spent our whole lives together. If I had known everything earlier, we would have at least got pacsed, but at 50 or 60 you don't think about the fact that your partner could suddenly die, " says the 57-year-old.

The value of papers

Together with a social worker, she has already sent a letter to the CNAP to explain her situation. This has not changed the pension fund's decision. "To receive a widow's pension in Luxembourg, you have to be married or pacsed. A simple cohabitation is not taken into account, " was the response from the responsible pension fund when asked by the Lëtzebuerger Journal. Patricia cannot afford a lawyer to challenge the decision. As there is no known precedent, it seems unlikely that the decision will be changed.

Cases like this are not talked about much in public because inheritance and pensions are sensitive issues. However, more and more couples are living in a so-called marriage-like relationship, i.e. in the same household, often with joint accounts, as a family – just without official papers to prove it. Ben's (name changed by the editors) parents also had such a relationship for over 30 years. What was rather unusual for their generation is becoming increasingly common today, even if the Pacs offers a good "interim solution".