Death of a member

In addition to coping with grief, the deceased’s family members must often take care of many practical matters. In this document, we provide advice on how to deal with matters related to unemployment security.

Membership of the unemployment fund

We update our members' address information on an annual basis. In this connection, we receive information on the death of our member from the population register, in which case we can end the membership and will no longer send an invoice for the membership fee.

Depending on the time, however, it is possible that we do not yet have any information on the death of our member. In this case, we will send an invoice for the membership fee in the usual manner. As a family member, you can contact us and notify us of the matter, in which case we will make the necessary changes to the membership fee invoice.

The payment of the membership fee may affect any pending earnings-related daily allowance matters. We will review the case and advise on what to do if there are any outstanding issues. 

Earnings-related daily allowance

Applicants may be entitled to earnings-related daily allowance until the day of the applicant’s death. As a result, the estate may need to apply for earnings-related daily allowance for the period prior to death after the applicant has died. It is also possible that any excess benefits that were paid will have to be recovered after the person’s death or an appeal may still be pending.

Who can deal with matters related to the deceased's earnings-related daily allowance?

After a person dies, the parties to the estate usually have the right of action. Pursuant to legislation, the parties to an estate include heirs, beneficiaries of general legacy and often also the surviving spouse. A common-law spouse is not a party to an estate unless the spouse is also a beneficiary of general legacy.

Party to an estate and estate administrator

A party to an estate may use their right of action in matters related to unemployment security and can thus, for example, apply for daily unemployment allowance and appeal against an unemployment fund’s decision. When you contact us regarding these matters, we must, according to the instructions, ensure that the person acting on behalf of the estate actually is a party to the estate. We do, however, avoid any unnecessary bureaucracy.

If dealing with matters related to the estate so requires, you can apply for a confirmation of the parties to the estate from the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. The confirmation concerning the parties to the estate may be used to verify the status of the parties. Heirship may also be determined, for example, from population register data or based on official certificates or other reliable extracts from the personal register.

We can pay benefits only to an account that is in the name of the estate or the deceased person.

If a court has appointed an administrator to the estate, the administrator exercises the right of action, as referred to in legislation. Based on the administrator’s position, the administrator therefore has the right to apply for earnings-related daily allowance on behalf of the estate or, for example, appeal against our decision. The administrator can prove his or her mandate based on a court order. Although the estate is managed by the administrator, benefits may again only be paid to an account that is in the name of the estate or deceased.

Please do the following

  1. Agree with the estate on the responsibilities – who deals with matters related to the unemployment fund.

  2. Notify us of the death. We will end the membership and also check if there are any pending issues.

  3. You need not to worry. We will advise if, for example, it is still possible to apply for daily allowance or if there are any pending issues related to recovery or appeals.

  4. Please keep in mind that when you have taken care of matters with the bank, the estate may use the deceased’s online banking credentials. This allows you to easily deal with unemployment security matters through our online service.

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