Provision for Surviving Dependants in Social Security

This book explores survivors’ benefits, a long-standing pillar of social security systems worldwide. Rooted in the outdated male breadwinner model, these benefits were crafted to shield dependents from financial ruin after losing a primary earner. Yet, as societal currents shift—marked by rising female employment, widespread divorce, and the prevalence of informal partnerships—, social security systems increasingly grapple with their relevance. Are survivors’ benefits a vestige of the past, poised for overhaul, substitution, or even elimination?



Focusing on recent shifts in selected countries, this collected volume dissects the legal, social, and policy dimensions of these benefits. It examines how international and European legal instruments address survivors’ benefits and analyzes 21st-century reforms, revealing a system in quiet upheaval. Compact and incisive, this work lays bare the evolution of a once-steady institution now facing an uncertain future.



Stamatia Devetzi is Professor of Social Security Law at the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda, Germany. She has been active in teaching and research in the fields of Social Security, European Law, and Law Comparison for over 20 years. She is director of CINTEUS (Center for Intercultural and European Studies) in Fulda and a member of the advisory board of FNA (Research Institute of the German Pensions Insurance). Her papers have been published by, among other outlets, the European Journal of Social Security, the European Journal of Migration and Law, and ZESAR (Zeitschrift für europäisches Sozial- und Arbeitsrecht). Hans-Joachim Reinhard was Professor for Social Law and Private Law at the University of Applied Sciences in Fulda, Germany, from 2003 to 2023. In 2016–2023, he was elected as Dean of the Department of Social and Cultural Sciences. He has participated in various international projects in and outside Europe and gave lectures in Spain, France, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Japan, China, and Latin America. His scientific work comprises plenty of publications on social law, European law, and family law with focus on the situation of women in case of divorce and bereavement.