The pension reform in which the Toledo Pact works contemplates that the widow’s pension can also reach common-law couples, although the requirements and the calculation change depending on the regulatory base
Domestic partners may collect the widow’s pension as long as they meet the conditions established by Social Security. Among them, being registered in the Civil Registry, so that the union is official.
Either member of the couple will generate the right to a pension when the other dies. To apply for the widow’s pension, specific documentation must be presented at the offices or electronically.
To request this help, the beneficiary will have to go to the INSS offices by appointment, although they can also deliver the Survival Benefits Model through the Electronic Office.
If the request is approved, the survivor of the relationship will have a monthly INSS payroll in his bank account.
As a domestic partner, can I collect widowhood?
Yes, but a series of points must be met for Social Security to consent to the right to receive the pension. The first of all is that the two members of the couple must be united by means of an inscription in the Civil Registry. With this document they get the same rights as a married couple.
The signing of this paper must have been two years before the death of one of the two occurred.
The Administration will ask for the registration certificates of both the applicant and the deceased, in order to verify that they actually lived together. In the case of not finding this document that proves the coexistence, you can present a bill for electricity or water.
Finally, it should be noted that it is very important that the deceased, at the time of his death, should not be married to another person.
Some of these requirements are new, derived from the meetings for the reform of the Toledo Pact pensions.
Who is entitled to the widow’s pension? Survivor requirements
The surviving person of the domestic partnership is the one who will collect the widowhood. When you apply for the pension, you will have to prove a series of conditions and show that they are real.
The two fundamental ones are, not having more than 50% of the salary that your partner had if he was registered with Social Security at the time of death and during the last years of his relationship, just before death. But you must also prove a minimum contribution period.
In the latter case, when the deceased was contributing, she has to notify a minimum of 500 days during the last 5 years. To know these data officially before submitting the application, it is advisable to request the Labor Life, a very simple procedure that can be done through the internet in less than five minutes.
Another possible scenario is that the deceased was not registered with Social Security. Here he should have at least 15 years of contributions.
If he was a pensioner, the survivor automatically begins to collect the widow’s pension, without counting the years of contributions, as when the cause of death is an occupational accident or occupational disease.
If there is a common child entitled to receive the orphan’s pension, he will also receive this help of 25% of the regulatory base that the deceased had. It lasts until you turn 22 years old.
How much is charged in the widow’s pension?
The payroll of the widow’s pension is 60% of the deceased’s regulatory base. This amount reaches 70% in the event that there are family dependents (minors or disabled) or if the pension to be collected is the only money that comes into the house as well as the perception of the current interprofessional minimum wage.
Fulfilling all the requirements, the beneficiary could receive the maximum pension stipulated for 2021, which with the rise in pensions in January is higher than last year.
The Social Security workers who attend the application will explain how the widow’s pension is calculated. The way of doing accounts changes depending on whether the deceased was active with an employment contract in force or with leave, or if he was a jobseeker or pensioner.
This amount is also modified after analyzing the causes of death, whether due to common or professional contingency.
When the money to be paid is already clear, the INSS will apply a supplement based on other financial aid to which it is entitled, such as the maternity supplement when the widow has children.
When is the right to the widow’s pension lost?
The beneficiaries lose the collection of the widow’s pension when they fail to meet some of the requirements for which it was granted. In this case, the beneficiary of this aid does not marry another person or register as a common-law partner in the Civil Registry.
