The Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of Andalusia has rejected the petition of a woman who asked to increase her widow’s pension for the Passive Classes from 30% to 58% of the regulatory basis and collect the arrears from the month following the death of her husband, in July 1988. This was a Moroccan soldier who served in the Spanish Army and who obtained his retirement pension in January 1966, as noted in the ruling STSJ AND 5339/2026, which confirms that the Administration acted correctly by denying the requested review.
In May 2023, the woman had submitted a request to the General Subdirectorate of Management of Passive Classes so that the widow’s pension she was receiving could be reviewed. Since he did not receive a response within the deadline, he appealed against the rejection due to administrative silence, a request that was inadmissible in October 2023.
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A Moroccan soldier at the service of Spain
The ruling states that the woman’s widow’s pension was recognized under Law 172/1965 that regulates the situation of Moroccan personnel who enlisted in the Spanish Army, the relatives of Moroccans killed in the campaign and the members of the Mahzen Forces.
The widow managed to have her Social Security benefit recognized after a ruling by the Madrid Supreme Court issued on November 21, 2017. Finally, it was recognized in April 2018, applying 30% of the monthly regulatory base.
But the woman considered that her benefit should benefit from the improvements that were being applied to other widow’s pensions in the Passive Classes and that is why she requested that the regulatory base be raised to 58% and, furthermore, that this increase be applied retroactively from the month following the death of her husband.
Justice denies the increase for a reason
The TSJ of Andalusia has rejected the claim because it understands that the pension received by the soldier’s widow does not belong to the Passive Classes regime but to a special one linked to Moroccan personnel who served in the Spanish Army.
The court explains that although the pension is paid from Passive Classes, that does not mean that all the general regulations of that regime can be automatically applied. In this case, the court points out that the pension derives from special legislation and therefore cannot benefit from the increase claimed up to 58% of the regulatory base.
The ruling recalls that this problem was previously analyzed by the TSJ of Madrid with several final resolutions, which were contrary to the widow. It is also considered that the woman did not provide new arguments to change the criterion.
For this reason, the Court has rejected the appeal and confirmed the administrative resolution that rejected the pension review. The woman will have to pay the costs of the procedure, which are limited to a maximum of 1,500 euros plus VAT. There is an appeal against this ruling before the Supreme Court.