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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 Rooted in the outdated male breadwinner model, these benefits were crafted to shield dependents from financial ruin after losing a primary earner.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.
About the author
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.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).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).Eberhard Eichenhofer was born 1950; after studies at the universities of Tübingen and Saarbrücken he received 1979 a doctoral degree by the Universität des Saarlandes, Saarbrücken. Between 1980 and 1982 he worked as law clerk at the Federal Court for Social Law. From 1982 till 1989 he was researcher at the Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches und internationales Sozialrecht Munich. 1987 he received the degree of a facultas docendi (= Habilitation) by the Universität des Saarlandes Saarbrücken with an inquiry on the topic: international social security and social welfare law and private international law. 1989 he became Professor for civil law and social security law at the universities Osnabrück (till 1997) und Jena (1997-2016). His recent books include: Werner Maihofer, Vordenker des Sozialliberalismus (Grimma, 2022); Sozialrecht, 2021(12. edition), translated in Mandarin 2019 and Korean 2021; Sozialrecht der Europäischen Union, 2022 (8 th edition); The Law of the Activating Welfare State, 2015; Soziale Menschenrechte im Völker-, Europa- und deutschen Recht (Social human rights in international public, European and German Law), 2012.
