The survivor pension scheme is monthly allowance corresponding to a percentage of pension that deceased would have received, and it is normally paid to the closest surviving relatives. However, the contextual presence of more surviving relatives after the death of the spouse might constitute an issue to be evaluated.

Italian Court of Cassation has stated that in presence of divorced and survivor spouses, survivor pension scheme shall be determined on the duration of their marital relationships. In addition to the duration of the relationship, there are other criteria such as the purpose of the benefit, the amount of the pension, and economic conditions of both spouses.

With the ordinance No. 8263/2020, the Italian Court of Cassation has stated the previous principle by applying art. 9 section 3 of Legislation No. 898/1970. Specifically, the Court assessed the divorced spouse’s pension based on the duration of the marital relationship in the light of the date of divorce sentence. In the event in such period there are more subjects that comply with the requirements, the pension benefit shall be allocated among those subjects. This principle has been also confirmed by several sentences that confirm how survivor pension benefit cannot be determined only relying on mathematical parameters.