The requirements to obtain the benefit are not conditioned now by the income of the widower with respect to those received by the deceased during his last year of life
Through a recent sentence, the Supreme Court changes the criteria to be able to collect the widow’s pension in those couples who are not united by marriage. The High Court now requires registration as a de facto couple and thus rectifies the doctrine held a year ago when it understood that the union could be accredited by other means such as registration. With the help of Iñigo de la Peña, president of the Official Association of Social Graduates of Gipuzkoa, we detail all the keys.
What differences existed until this year between the de facto couple and the marriage to apply for the widow’s pension?
Until the end of 2021, the spouse or ex-spouse of the deceased, as well as the survivors of a de facto couple, were entitled to a widow’s pension, provided they met the requirements. In the case of marriage, the surviving spouse had the right, unless the deceased died of a common illness that did not occur after the marriage, in which case they had to alternatively prove either have common children or prove a year of duration of the marriage or a period of coexistence that added to the marriage exceeds 2 years. In the latter case, the temporary widow’s pension could be accessed for a period of 2 years.
The amount
1.783
People, especially women, registered as de facto couples were denied the widow’s pension between 2008 and 2020 by receiving more than the deceased in the last year.
And in the case of unmarried couples?
Beneficiaries could be those who were linked to the deceased at the time of his death forming a de facto couple, and must prove the following requirements:
-a stable and notorious coexistence immediately after death with an uninterrupted duration of not less than 5 years.
-the existence of the de facto couple through certification of registration. This had to be recorded in one of the specific records of the autonomous communities or town halls of the place of residence or by means of a public document. In it, the de facto couple had to be constituted at least 2 years before the death and that the income during the previous calendar year did not reach 50% of the sum of their own and that of the deceased in the same period. . These incomes are reduced to 25% in the event that there are no common children entitled to an orphan’s pension, unless the survivor’s income is less than 1.5 times the amount of the SMI in force at the time of death.
The courts considered that the difference in treatment between spouses and unmarried persons had an objective and reasonable justification.
What has changed with the new regulations?
The access requirements are maintained in the case of conjugal bonds and are modified for unmarried couples. In this case, the requirement linked to the income limit that we have reported is eliminated. Thus, beneficiaries may be those who are united with the deceased at the time of his death, forming a de facto couple who prove a stable and notorious coexistence immediately after the death of the deceased with an uninterrupted duration of not less than 5 years and the existence of the de facto couple through certification of registration in one of the specific registries in which their constitution is recorded at least 2 years in advance of the date of death.
The exception is in the event that there are children in common, in which only registration or a public document is required that proves that their constitution occurred with said minimum notice. In the event that it cannot be proven that the registration or its constitution has occurred at least 2 years before the date of death, you can access the temporary widow’s benefit.
Many different
The requirements for access to the benefit continue to be more demanding and restrictive for unmarried couples
Do married couples and de facto couples now have the same rights and obligations?
No, because the requirements for access to the benefit continue to be more demanding and restrictive for the latter, but a substantial step forward has been made in equalizing both links. Regarding the calculation of the regulatory base, percentage and amount, the regulation is identical for both.
same
Regarding the calculation of the regulatory base, percentage and amount, the regulation is identical for both figures
How much are widow’s pensions this year? How much have they appreciated?
In general, the widow’s pension is 52% of the regulatory base, which is the result of dividing by 28 the sum of the contribution bases during an uninterrupted period of 24 calendar months chosen by the beneficiary of the 15 immediately preceding years. the month prior to the causal event, unless the death derives from a work-related accident or occupational disease. In this case, the regulatory base is determined on the wages actually received the previous year. The calculation also differs in the event that the deceased is a pensioner, having to pay attention to the specific pension that the deceased received when he died.
The amount of the widow’s pension has been revalued by 2.5%, in the same way as the pensions for permanent disability, retirement, orphanhood and in favor of family members and the maximum pension is 2,819.18 euros per month and 39,468.52 euros in annual computation. As for the minimum pension, it ranges from 834.90 euros per month in the case of a holder with family responsibilities to 546.80 euros per month in the case of a holder under 60 years of age in 14 payments.