La widow's pension, along with retirement, is the one that pays the most in Spain. But not many know the details of this contributory benefit. For example, do you know that to receive it the deceased himself has to meet a series of requirements? Or that if you receive an income greater than a certain amount of money, it invalidates you to receive the widow's pension?
If we have piqued your curiosity and you want to clarify your ideas about this feature, below we give you all the information you should take into account about it.
What is the widow's pension
A widow's pension is understood to be the benefit received by survivors who have a marital or common-law relationship with the deceased, as long as they both meet a series of requirements.
In other words, the widow's pension is a money you receive monthly when the couple has passed away. But, as the Security itself already warns, a series of conditions must be met in order to be a beneficiary of it.
Who is entitled to the widow's pension
As we have said before, there are several people who may be beneficiaries of the widow's pension. These are:
- Marriage partner. That is, the person who is still alive compared to the one who has died and with whom he had a relationship, whether he was a common-law partner or legal marriage.
- Domestic partner. For the above explained.
- Divorced or separated.
- People with null marriage (despite annulment, can receive a widow's pension).
However, all of them have to meet a series of requirements, as in the case of the deceased himself.
Requirements to be met by the deceased
Let's start with the deceased person. In order for the other survivor to receive the widow's pension, he must have traded 500 days in the last 5 years, as long as the death occurred due to a common illness (if it is due to an accident or occupational disease, this requirement is not requested). In case of not having been registered in the Social Security, the pension will take into account that they will contribute 15 years.
Likewise, it will also be given if she had a contributory retirement pension or a permanent disability, allowance for temporary disability, maternity, paternity, or risk during pregnancy or breastfeeding.
Requirements that the survivor must meet to receive the widow's pension
In the case of the survivor, the following is necessary to receive the widow's pension:
Have children in common or, if there are none, that the marriage had lasted at least one year. It may also be the case of having a compensatory pension in the case of separated or divorced persons if they do not have a new marriage or common-law partner.
There are two specific cases:
- Separated and divorced. If these are before 2008, the requirement of the compensatory pension is eliminated (the same happens if they have been victims of gender violence).
- Couples in fact. It is requested that the union be for at least two years, with a stable coexistence of at least five, and that the own income is not higher than that of the deceased, nor does it represent 25% of the total family unit if there are no children.
Finally, we have the case of marriages declared invalid. As long as the other person has not remarried, you can receive a widow's pension that is calculated based on the time you have been with that person.
How much is charged for widowhood
According to Social Security, the widow's pension is equivalent to 52% of the regulatory base of those who have died, 60% in the case of people over 65 euros who are not entitled to another pension or to a job, either on account employed or self-employed. Of course, they must comply that the income from movable and real estate capital as well as their earnings do not exceed 7569 euros per year.
There are some cases where 70% of the widow's pension can be reached, when the person who remains alive has family dependents or when he is the only source of income.
On the other hand, in the case of divorced or separated, where there are several beneficiaries, there will be a proportional calculation according to how they lived with that deceased, always guaranteeing 40% of the regulatory base.
In summary, the amounts for widowhood (limited by law (Royal Decree 46/2021, of January 26)), tells us:
- Under 60s: 522,50 euros per month and 7.315,00 euros per year.
- People between 60 and 64 years old: 645,30 euros per month and 9.034,20 euros per year.
- People over 65 or over or a disability of at least 65%: 689,70 euros per month and 9.655,80 euros per year.
- People with dependents: € 797,91 per month and a total of € 17.460,37 per year.
What percentage does a widow collect from her husband's pension
From what we have seen, it is clear that a widow will receive from widow's pension for the loss of her husband 52% normally. However, that percentage can be increased to 70% if it meets the requirements that make it possible to increase.
That is, if you have family dependents, the widow's pension is the only source of income and the annual income does not exceed € 17.460,37. In that case, the benefit will be increased to 70% of it.
Can the widow's pension and another pension be collected? Or work?
A question of many is whether the widow's pension makes it impossible to receive another type of monetary benefit. But really it's not so. The pension is fully compatible with earned income, that is, with having a job for which you receive a salary at the end of the month; it is also the case with the retirement pension and permanent disability.
However, in the event of a second marriage, maintaining the widow's pension makes it impossible to receive another equal pension due to the death of the member in the new marriage.
As you can see, the widow's pension has some important points that may be the ones that cause the amount to be different, or whether it is received or not. Actually, if you have doubts, having a consultation with Social Security can clarify things for you since you can present the particular case so that they can give you an answer.