Is there a widow's or widower's pension for unmarried couples?

Some years ago, when a couple wanted to formalise their relationship and move in together, they only had the option of getting married. However, as time went by, more and more couples opted to live at the same address but did not want to take that step. This was the reason for the creation of the unmarried couple.

One of the main concerns of those who live with their partner in this way is the widow's or widower's pension. In fact, this is a frequent cause for consultation with civil lawyers. Here we would like to talk to you about whether or not you are entitled to receive it.

But what is a widow's or widower's pension?

It is important to define this concept correctly from the outset. Specifically, it is a financial benefit paid by the state to a person who has been in a marital or common-law relationship with a deceased person. Therefore, unmarried partners are entitled to this type of pension.

The purpose of the widow's/widower's allowance is to meet the financial needs of the widow or widower of the person who has died. In other words, it is a form of family protection against a stable loss of income.

What the law says about widow's/widower's pensions

The General Social Security Act is the law that regulates the right of unmarried couples to access widow's and widower's pensions. However, it establishes a series of requirements to be able to obtain it in the event of the death of one of the partners. These are:

1. The unmarried couple must be registered, constituted and recorded in the Registry of Unmarried Partnerships. This is a regional body, so, depending on the place of residence of the partners, one must go to one or the other.
2. The partnership must have been formed at least two years before the death of the partner.
3. Notwithstanding the above requirement, it is compulsory to prove that the partners have been living together for at least the last five years, i.e. for a further three years. This can be proven by providing certificates of census registration or invoices, for example.
4. The deceased may not have been married to another person at the time of death.

These four points are particularly important. This is mainly due to the fact that, until a few years ago, the responsibility for deciding which persons whose partner had died were entitled to receive the widow's or widower's benefit was the sole responsibility of the autonomous communities and their regulations in this respect. This meant that, at a certain point in time, it was only necessary to prove that the couple lived at the same address to qualify for the pension when one of them died.

However, in 2014, the Constitutional Court decided that this paragraph of the General Social Security Law was unconstitutional and went on to reunify its doctrine. That was the moment when, in the new legal text, the requirements we have detailed above appeared, as well as those we will set out below.

Special requirements for access to widow's/widower's pensions for unmarried partners

Beyond these four requirements, there are two others that deserve a more detailed explanation. Let us look at them in more detail.

Firstly, the General Social Security Law establishes that the person who survives his or her partner cannot exceed a certain income limit. Specifically, this could not exceed 50% of the income received by the partner at the time of death and during the last years of their relationship.

It is also stipulated that the deceased must have attained a minimum contribution period. This can be summarised as follows:

1. If the death occurred while the person was registered with the social security system or in a situation assimilated to it, the law requires him to have paid contributions for 500 days during the last 5 years in order for his partner to be able to receive the pension.
2. If, at the time of death, he or she was not registered with the social security system, he or she would have to have paid at least 15 years of contributions during his or her entire working life.
3. If the deceased was a pensioner, no minimum contribution period is required.
4. The same applies to those who die as a result of an accident at work or occupational disease.

How do I apply for a widow's or widower's pension for unmarried couples?

The procedure is the same as for married couples. The person who becomes a "widow or widower" must apply at the offices of the Social Security Institute in the town where he or she lives or, failing that, download the Survivor's Benefit Application Form from the Internet. You should then fill it in with your personal details, those of your children, those of the address where you used to live, etc.

This document must be submitted to these offices within three months of the partner's death. If it is submitted later, you will only receive the amount corresponding to those three months. This is one of the situations that most often leads to queries in civil law firms.

And when do widow's and widower's pensions cease to be paid to unmarried partners?

The General Social Security Act also establishes a series of events that lead to the end of widow's/widower's pensions for the surviving members of an unmarried couple. These are:

1. When the beneficiary of the benefit forms a new domestic partnership with another person or gets married.
2. When the beneficiary dies.
3. If it can be proved that the person who is entitled to the benefit from his or her partner is not deceased. This may even lead to criminal liability.
4. The pension will cease to be provided if the guilt or involvement of the surviving partner in the death of his or her partner is proven.

What about the children?

Just as the surviving partner is entitled to receive the widow's/widower's benefit, the children of both partners who have become orphans will also receive their entitlement. Specifically, the law reserves a maximum of 25% of the deceased's stipulated base for each of them, while the mother or father will receive a minimum of 50%. On reaching the age of 22, the children will no longer receive any benefit.

In short, unmarried partners have the same rights as married couples with regard to widow's/widower's pensions. However, this does not mean that, at certain times, they may not have problems in accessing them for various reasons. In these types of cases, as well as in those in which the amount is not considered to be adequate, the most reasonable thing to do is to call on the services of specialised civil lawyers to look after your rights. If you have any doubts or queries, please contact us through this link.