The Superior Court of Justice of Castilla y León establishes that denying the child pension supplement to a retiree due to the fact that he or she was dismissed through an employment regulation file represents an error of interpretation on the part of Social Security. With this ruling, the Social Court agrees with a pensioner and opens the door to new claims from men to whom the National Social Security Institute rejected this bonus by classifying their retirement as “voluntary”, despite the fact that their departure from their company was forced.
The ruling STSJ CL 4816/2025 (which can be consulted at this link from the Judiciary), explains that the affected person had his retirement pension recognized and met the requirements to access the maternity supplement (now gender gap). Even so, his application was initially rejected because he was a voluntary early retirement pensioner. However, the court determined that, as a result of a collective dismissal, “we are not faced with a voluntary early retirement but rather with a retirement for reasons not attributable to the will of the worker.” Thanks to this ruling, he has been recognized with the right to receive the supplement retroactively from the date on which he began to collect his pension.
Who can claim this denied plugin?
Despite being the same concept, there are two clear stages to claim. The first is the old maternity supplement, applicable to pensions earned between January 1, 2016 and February 3, 2021. In this period, jurisprudence indicates that the supplement can be enjoyed by both parents at the same time if both parents meet the requirements, so it cannot be denied to the father just because the mother already receives it. Furthermore, as this recent case demonstrates, it cannot be denied if early retirement was the result of a collective dismissal.
The second stage is the supplement to reduce the gender gap, in force since February 4, 2021. On this point, Alfonso Muñoz Cuenca, a Social Security official, has explained that men who were recognized with a contributory pension since that date and were denied the child supplement can request it again. The reason is that, after the ruling of the Court of Justice of the European Union of May 15, 2025, Social Security adapted its criteria and eliminated the additional conditions that had been required of men.
The new Social Security management criteria also clarifies that, if the male parent’s pension is prior to May 15, 2025, the economic effects of the recognition go back to the pension’s effective date. If it is later, the general retroactivity provided for in the law applies. This change affects all pensions, including Passive Classes. Alfonso Muñoz emphasizes the importance of this point by pointing out that “that is, you will be paid arrears from the recognition of your pension.”
Therefore, anyone who has a pension between 2016 and 2021 and was denied the old supplement, or who since 2021 saw their request for the gender gap supplement rejected because they are a man or because of the type of retirement, can review their case. Alfonso Muñoz recommends that if you are one of those affected, “make an appointment at Social Security and request this right again.” In many cases, the claim not only allows you to recover the supplement, which in 2026 amounts to 36.90 euros per month per child, but also to collect arrears from the date of effect of the pension itself.