Widow’s pensions are, after retirement, the most numerous contributory pensions in Spain. More than 2.3 million people receive a benefit that, given its nature, presents a series of peculiarities in terms of its collection and the situations in which it can be received.
When the right to a pension is generated in a situation as delicate as that of the death of a spouse (although sometimes also ), an aspect can often go unnoticed that, in conditions of economic hardship, can be really important: how long does the Social Security in granting a widow’s pension.
It is not a trivial matter, since in those cases in which the surviving spouse depended on the income of his partner, the absence of these amounts can leave him in a situation of risk. Precisely for this purpose, the widow’s pension is provided: it has the objective of guaranteeing a certain level of income for the surviving spouse.
According to the , Social Security has a period of 90 days to respond to a request for a widow’s pension. It is the maximum time, but in practice it can be less: the agency explains that the average resolution time is 13 days.
From what moment is the widow’s pension paid?
On the contrary, the applicant for the pension does not have a maximum term to request the benefit. Your right to a pension is never prescribed, although depending on the date on which you request that pension, the effects of the pension will be one or the other. Or what is the same, depending on when the pension is requested, the body will start paying from a certain date.
Thus, when the deceased was not a pensioner, if the pension application is submitted within the three months following the death, it will be paid from the day following the event that caused it. On the other hand, if the deceased were a pensioner, when the pension is requested within three months following the death, it will begin to be paid from the 1st day of the month following the death.
For cases in which the application for the widow’s pension is made more than three months after the death of the deceased, the Social Security explains that the payment of the pension “will accrue with a maximum retroactivity of three months to the date of request”.
Requirements to receive the widow’s pension
The cause of the pension, the person who dies, is only asked if the cause of death is due to a common illness, provided that they have contributed for at least 15 years. However, the rest of deceased persons are required to make a specific contribution: 500 days within the five years immediately prior to the triggering event or the moment in which the obligation to contribute ceased.
In parallel, the beneficiary must meet some other requirement to be able to collect the widow’s pension if it derives from a death due to a common illness: having children in common or that the marriage takes place at least one year before death.
If the beneficiary was a common-law partner of the deceased, they must prove the existence of that common-law partner (conveniently registered) at least two years before the death and the existence of children in common or proof of a notorious and stable coexistence of at least five years. .
If, on the other hand, the beneficiary was already separated or divorced from the deceased, there are cases in which the widow’s pension can be collected. This will happen with people who received a compensatory pension from the deceased, although women accredited as victims of gender violence are exempt from this condition.
In divorces or separations prior to 2008, in order to collect the widow’s pension, it will not be necessary to receive a compensatory pension from the deceased if the marriage lasted at least 10 years, less than 10 years elapsed between the divorce or separation and death and if there are children in common or the survivor is at least 50 years old.
These people do not have to meet any of the above requirements if, after a divorce or separation prior to 2008, they are 65 years of age or older, the marriage lasted at least 15 years and they are not entitled to another public pension.
Amount of widow’s pension
In general, the amount of the widow’s pension is 52% of the regulatory base of the deceased. However, it can increase to 60% when the beneficiary is 65 years of age or older, is not entitled to receive another pension, does not receive income from any type of work and does not have annual income of more than 7,707 euros.
Those people who have family responsibilities (children under 26 years of age or older with at least 33% disability), who have in the pension the main source of income of the family unit (which is of at least 50% of the income) and whose annual income “does not exceed the amount resulting from adding to the limit that, in each fiscal year, is foreseen for the recognition of the supplements for minimum contributory pensions, the annual amount that , in each financial year, corresponds to the minimum widow’s pension with family responsibilities”.
Facebook Comments
Disqus