Is a divorced person entitled to a pension?

A widow's or widower's pension is a financial payment from the social security system to cover the financial needs of one of the partners when the other partner dies. The different circumstances of each relationship often give rise to doubts as to whether a widow's or widower's pension is possible after divorce, or whether separated persons are also considered. For this reason, it is best to seek advice from a family lawyer.

If you are divorced, are you entitled to a widow's or widower's pension?

The current provisions on widow's pensions include the right of the former partner to receive a widow's allowance for life, regardless of whether or not the deceased was registered with the Social Security Administration at the time of death. This entitlement is available to divorced and legally separated persons, although the amount will vary if the deceased marries after the divorce. In this case, the ex-partner would be entitled to a widow's/widower's payment, but this would be divided between the survivors and the divorced based on the length of time they lived with the deceased.

However, the statute guarantees at least 40% in favour of the spouse. However, in order to receive a pension after a divorce, there are a number of conditions that must be met. On the other hand, these would not be compulsory in the case of death due to an accident or occupational disease.

What conditions must be met for a widow's or widower's pension to be payable?

For a person to be recognised as a beneficiary of a widow's or widower's pension after a divorce, two conditions must be met:

1. Be unmarried.
2. Be entitled to a compensatory pension (if the widow's/widower's pension is higher than the compensatory pension).

However, there is no obligation to receive a compensatory pension if the spouse is identified as a victim of gender-based violence at the time of the divorce or separation, or if the spouse proves that the legal separation or divorce took place in January 2008.

What if the divorce or separation occurred before 1 January 2008?

It is not necessary to be a creditor of a compensatory pension if the legal separation or divorce took place before 1 January 2008 and the following conditions are met:

• 10 years or less, from the date of divorce or separation until the death of the former spouse.
• The marriage has lasted at least 10 years.
• There are children in common after the marriage.
• The separated or divorced person is not liable for a compensatory pension.

On the other hand, for people over the age of 65 who were legally separated or divorced before 1 January 2008, a presumption must be included in the regulations. In these cases, entitlement to a widow's or widower's pension after divorce is provided for, provided that:

• Is not a beneficiary of a compensatory pension.
• Do not meet the requirements of the above.
• Be able to prove that you are not entitled to any kind of public pension.
• The marriage lasted at least 15 years.

Is separation of a widow's pension and divorce the same thing?

There is an important difference when calculating divorce and separation pensions. It is understood that during separation, the couple will take some time and the marriage is on hold, but there is a possibility of reconciliation. For legal purposes, the two will remain married, and the months of separation are counted as months of marriage for the purpose of calculating the widow's/widower's pension. In divorce, however, this is not the case. Divorce is a form of marriage breakdown that gives couples the right to break the ties that bind them together and rebuild their lives.

Months of marriage are taken into account when calculating divorced widows' pensions, but they are added back to the date on which the divorce was signed, not the date after. Moreover, divorce does not recognise the right to reconciliation when calculating pensions: divorce is the total and complete breakdown of the marriage, and if the couple remarries after reconciliation, the months of the previous marriage are not counted, as the signing of the divorce indicates that the spouses both agree to annul the marriage to all intents and purposes.

However, people who are judicially separated are entitled to a widow's or widower's pension, even if they are not divorced, if the other spouse dies (and provided they meet the established requirements) because the judge is the one who admits the separation and ends the economic system that governed the union at that time.

Amount of widow's/widower's pension

In general, the widow's/widower's pension is 52% of the deceased's pensionable income. This amount rises to 60% of the regulatory base for persons over 65 years of age, who are not entitled to other pensions, have no income from employment or self-employment and have an annual income of less than €7,707.