Social Security exempts from complying with a minimum contribution period for the widow’s pension when the death of the spouse results from an accident

The widow’s pension is the Social Security contributory benefit granted to those people who have lost their spouse. As its name indicates, “contributory” means that a minimum number of days of contributions are necessary to access the pension. This raises doubts and concern, especially when the deceased person was the one who contributed all or a large part of the financial income. Social Security understands these types of situations, which is why it offers options to access the widow’s pension without having to have a minimum contribution if the death occurs due to an accident.

Article 219 General Social Security Law requires a minimum of 500 days of contributions in the last 5 years to access the widow’s pension, if registered. If this is not the case, it is required that throughout your life you have contributed for a minimum of fifteen years. Now this requirement is required when death results from an expected situation or a common illness. In the case of unforeseen or unexpected situations, the law allows a “total exemption from contributions.”

The exception to access the widow’s pension with zero days of contributions

Article 219.1 of the General Social Security Law explains that, if the cause of death was an accident, whether work-related or not, or an occupational disease, no prior contribution period will be required.

This means that it does not matter whether the deceased had been working for five years, two months or a single day. If the death occurs as a result of a traffic accident, a home accident, a work accident or any other chance event classified as an accident, Social Security completely exempts the 500-day requirement. The surviving spouse or common-law partner will be entitled to the widow’s pension for life from minute one.

A practical example

To visualize it better, let’s imagine David and Elena. They are married and Elena has just gotten her first job after finishing her studies. They lead a modest life and she has only been registered with Social Security for three months (about 90 days of contributions). One weekend, Elena suffers a tragic traffic accident that costs her her life.

As Elena only had 90 days of contributions, if she had died from a common illness, David would not have been entitled to the widow’s pension, since it did not reach the required 500 days. However, since it is an accident, Social Security will apply the exception of article 219. No minimum period of prior contribution will be required for David and a widow’s pension will be approved to guarantee him financial support.

The amount of the widow’s pension if you do not have contributions

It is normal to think that, by accessing the pension without meeting the requirement of 500 days of prior contributions, Social Security is going to penalize us by paying less aid. However, this is not the case. The amount to be collected applies the same percentages as an ordinary pension, being set at 52% of the regulatory base in general, although it rises to 60% of the regulatory base if the beneficiary:

• You are 65 years old or older.
• You are not entitled to another public pension.
• He has no income from self-employment or employment.
• He does not have income from movable or real estate capital, capital gains or income from economic activities for a value greater than 9,193 euros per year.

Furthermore, the amount of the pension becomes 70% of the regulatory base if:

• The pensioner has family responsibilities: this will happen if he or she lives with children under 26 years of age, disabled adults of at least 33%, or minors fostered or subject to custody for adoption purposes. Also if the income of the family unit, together with those of the pensioner, does not exceed 75% of the Minimum Interprofessional Wage in annual calculation.
• The widow’s pension is the main or only source of income, that is, if it is greater than 50% of your income.
• If the pensioner’s annual income does not exceed the sum of the minimum contributory pension supplements and the annual amount that, in each financial year, corresponds to the minimum widow’s pension with family responsibilities.

So, what does it matter if you don’t have contributions and if the cause is an accident? Basically in the figure on which those percentages are applied. Social Security points out on its website that the regulatory base “It is calculated differently, depending on the situation of the deceased (active worker or pensioner) and the cause of death (common contingency or professional contingency)”. As in this case we are talking about an accident without sufficient prior quotes, the base will not be calculated with a long history of years ago, but with the specific rules of accidents, so it is best for the interested person to consult it.