To access the widow’s pension, Social Security requires, among other requirements, a minimum time of formalization of the couple. If the death results from a common illness prior to the marriage, it is required that the wedding has taken place at least one year before the fatal outcome, unless there are children in common. In the case of de facto couples, it is necessary to prove stable cohabitation during the five years prior to death and, in addition, certify the registration in an official registry or the formalization in a public document at least two years prior to death. Now, there are people who comply with everything except that time condition, registered or married. In this sense, Social Security allows access to a widow’s pension, although temporarily, that is, for a maximum duration of two years.
Article 222 of the General Social Security Law (available in this BOE) establishes a temporary widow’s benefit. This is a solution designed for those widows and widowers who cannot access because they do not meet the requirement of minimum duration of marriage or registration as a required de facto couple.
To access the widow’s benefit temporarily, the General Social Security Law requires that the rest of the conditions be met. That is, in the case of de facto couples, it is necessary to prove that they have lived together for five years, even if they do not reach the minimum period of two years registered in the official registry or, in the case of married couples, they do not reach the one year of marriage.
Now, what happens if death occurs before those exact deadlines are met? This is where article 222 of the General Social Security Law comes into play.
Collect the widow’s pension for two years as a “second chance”
Article 222 explains that, if the survivor meets absolutely all other contribution and registration requirements required by law, but fails exclusively in the duration of the marriage (that minimum year) or the legal registration as a de facto couple (the previous two years), Social Security will grant them a widow’s pension temporarily.
It will have the same amount, that is, 52% of the regulatory base temporarily (although it may increase to 70% in cases where there are family responsibilities and a low level of income). The duration will be two years, with no possibility of extensions, that is, it will not be for life. After that time, the pension expires.
A practical example
To visualize it better, let’s imagine Carlos and María. They have been living together for five years, but decide to formalize their relationship and register as a de facto couple in the registry of their autonomous community in January. Unfortunately, María died suddenly in October of that same year.
As they had only been officially registered for 10 months, Carlos does not reach the minimum two years required by the regulations for the lifetime pension of de facto couples. However, upon meeting the rest of the conditions (such as María’s contributions), Social Security will apply article 222 and grant her temporary widow’s benefit. If the calculations indicated that he was entitled to 900 euros per month, Carlos will receive those 900 euros per month for exactly two years.