As a general rule, the widow’s pension It is for life, but its maintenance is subject to the conditions of the beneficiary not changing substantially, being the most common cause of extinction contracting a new marriage or establish a new de facto couple. However, the law provides for vital exceptions. In this sense, for those people who decide to rebuild their lives, Social Security will maintain the payment of their widow’s pension as long as they meet certain age and economic dependency requirements.
You should know that this is a benefit whose purpose is to compensate for the lack of income suffered by the surviving spouse or common-law partner after death. The amount of the widow’s pension is not fixed, but depends on several factors, mainly on the regulatory basis of the deceased and the applicable percentage. As a general rule, it is 52%, but it increases to 60% for those over 65 years of age with no other income.
Now, Social Security allows the amount to be raised up to 70% of the regulatory base when there are family responsibilities. The objective is to prevent the widow or widower with dependent children from being left in a situation of lack of protection, as long as they meet the requirements of lack of income.
Requirements to maintain the pension with 70% of the regulatory base
As explained in article 219 of the General Social Security Law (consultable in this BOE), to continue collecting the widow’s pension after contracting a new marriage, it is necessary to comply with certain income limits and conditions, which are the following:
- Be over 61 years old or have a recognized absolute permanent disability, severe disability or a disability greater than 65%.
- That the widow’s pension is the sole or main source of income for the pensioner, representing at least 75% of their total annual income.
- That the total income of the new marriage or de facto couple does not exceed twice the current Minimum Interprofessional Wage (SMI).
On the other hand, for Social Security to raise the amount up to 70% for family responsibilities, the beneficiary must prove that he or she lives with children under 26 years of age or older children with disabilities. Furthermore, the widow’s pension must constitute your main source of income (assuming more than 50% of your income) and the income of the family unit, divided among its members, must not exceed the established legal limit.
It is necessary to remember that these exceptions and increases are not unconditional and consolidated. This means that, if in the future the pensioner obtained new income, his or her new partner began to receive high incomes, or stopped having family responsibilities, the percentage could be reduced again to 52% or the pension could be extinguished.
For this reason, Social Security explains that it is mandatory to report any change in income or marital status that alters these thresholds to avoid having to return the amounts received as “improper charge”.