For your partner
Pension for your partner?
With or without a cohabitation contract, married or registered partners. Your partner will often be entitled to a partner’s pension if you die while you are in the employment of Shell. See this page for information about what to do to arrange this and how it works.
Married or registered partner? Check your details
Your partner will be registered automatically via the municipality. Just to be absolutely sure, head to my‑Shell Pension to see if the information is actually correct.
What if the information is incorrect? Then contact us.
Living together or abroad? Register your partner with us
We do not receive this information automatically. There are 2 ways to register your partner:
- You live together and have a cohabitation contract. Or you married or entered into a registered partnership abroad. When registering your partner, include a copy or photo of your agreement, marriage certificate, or proof of registered partnership.
- Or: You do not have a cohabitation agreement. In that case, you both complete a declaration confirming that you live together.
Keep the following details of your partner at hand: full name, date of birth, and email address. Register your partner no later than your retirement date, but preferably as soon as possible. This prevents your partner from having to arrange this after your death.
How does the partner’s pension work?
The SNPS partner’s pension is a variable benefit for your partner if you pass away. Your partner will receive the partner’s pension for as long as they live. Each year, we increase or decrease the payment based on the results of the Collective Variable Pension (CVP). This reflects investment performance and other factors, such as changes in life expectancy. Read more about our Collective Variable Pension (CVP) .
Your partner will receive a benefit if you die while employed by Shell. There are 2 types of partner’s pension:
- Temporary partner’s pension: Your partner receives this benefit until their state pension (AOW) age. The amount is based on the Dutch Survivor’s Act (Anw) and is slightly higher than the standard Anw benefit.
- Life-long partner's pension.Your partner receives this benefit for life. At the start, the payment equals 35% of your last determined pensionable salary.
You remain insured for partner’s pension for up to three months after leaving Shell. After three months – or earlier if you start a new job or retire – this coverage ends automatically.
In some cases, you can choose to continue the partner’s pension insurance after these three months. This will reduce your pension capital, as part of it is used for the insurance.
If you leave Shell and receive unemployment or sickness benefits, the partner’s pension insurance continues for as long as you receive those benefits.
Are you about to retire? Then you and your partner decide whether to continue or stop the partner’s pension insurance. This is called purchasing or waiving the partner’s pension.
The amount of the lifelong partner’s pension depends on the age at which you retire. If you retire at 68, the benefit equals 70% of your old-age pension. Retiring earlier or later may change this amount.
If you registered your partner without an agreement, you should have completed a declaration confirming you live together. If this was not done before your death, we will ask your partner for proof. For example, that you were registered at the same address for at least six months and have a joint rental contract.
You can find all the rules about partner’s pension in the regulations (pdf).
Tip: make arrangements about your pension
If you marry, register a partnership, or start living together with a cohabitation agreement, make pension arrangements at that time.
And what about children?
There is an orphan’s pension for your child or children. Read more on the children page.
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