2023-11-03 10:03:15
Friday, November 3, 2023, 00:26 | Updated 09:03h.
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According to the latest data from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, of the ten million contributory pensions paid, 2.3 are for widows. The objective of these benefits is to avoid the possible lack of protection of the beneficiary after the death of the couple, especially if they were the one who generated the income (or most of it) for the family unit.
However, this does not mean that all deaths of people with a spouse or common-law partner give the right to receive a widow’s pension. To begin with, as we have already said, it is a contributory pension, which means that, as a general rule, the deceased must have met minimum contribution requirements. If the cause of death is an accident (whether work-related or not) or an occupational disease or if the deceased was already a pensioner, a minimum contribution is not required, but if the reason for death is a common illness, they would have to have contributed to the least 500 days in the five years immediately preceding death. If on that date they were not registered or assimilated into any Social Security regime, this requirement is raised to 15 years.
But there are also demands for whoever is going to receive it. A spouse, to be considered a beneficiary of the widow’s pension, must meet specific requirements, which depend on her relationship with the deceased and the cause of death.
If the death is caused by a common illness diagnosed before the celebration of the marriage, the widower must prove either that he or she has children in common with the deceased or that he or she has been married for more than a year, although a period of cohabitation as a couple can also be demonstrated that added the duration of the marriage exceeds two years. If neither of the two requirements are met, a temporary widow’s benefit may be requested for two years. During this time, the Administration considers that the beneficiary will be able to obtain other income through his or her own means.
In the case of common-law couples, in order to receive a widow’s pension for deaths after December 31, 2021, registration in one of the specific registries existing in the autonomous communities or town councils of the place of residence or the formalization of a public document stating the constitution of said couple, in both cases, at least 2 years in advance of the date of death of the deceased. If there are no common children, a “stable and notable cohabitation” of no less than 5 years is also requested. It must be remembered that the pension reform approved in 2022 eliminated the financial limits that previously prevented the surviving member of the couple from accessing the pension if during the last year they had had income higher than that of the deceased.
If there was a judicial separation or divorce, the spouse will be considered a beneficiary of the pension if he or she has not remarried and has not formed a new de facto couple and, in addition, obtained the right to a compensatory pension for separation or divorce. .
Furthermore, it must be taken into account that it is not a lifetime pension, but rather it is linked to the economic vulnerability derived from the death of the person who generated the household income. Therefore, as a general rule, if the beneficiary remarries he loses his right to receive this pension. The exceptions are when you are over 61 years of age, you also have a pension for absolute permanent disability, severe disability or a disability greater than 65%; if the widow’s pension is the pensioner’s main or only source of income (it contributes 75% of his or her income on an annual basis) or if the new marriage or de facto couple has annual income, of any nature and including the widow’s pension , which do not exceed twice the amount, in annual calculation, of the SMI in force at any given time.
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