He Supreme Court (TS) has given the reason for a man with a disability to access a pension for severe disability with 100% of the regulatory basedismissing the appeal presented by the National Social Security Institute (INSS) and the General Treasury of Social Security. The plaintiff, Pedro Miguel, had requested early retirement at age 56 due to a severe visual impairment, but his request was initially rejected by Social Security.
The plaintiff, who has suffered from retinitis pigmentosa for decades, had worked as a seller of ONCE coupons after being declared in a situation of absolute permanent disability in 1994. After a long professional career and complying with the requirements of Royal Decree 1851/2009 for the early retirement due to disability, I requested it from Social Security, which was granted at age 56, with a pension equivalent to 100% of a regulatory base of 2,061.72 euros per month.
Later, in 2017, he wanted his retirement pension recognized for severe disability, but Social Security rejected his request, arguing that was not compatible with his early retirement situation.
For Social Security, the plaintiff was already retired and could not access another permanent disability benefit, since they are incompatible even though he met the medical requirements for the degree of severe disability. Furthermore, he maintained that his situation of absolute permanent disability recognized since 1994 already covered his current clinical situation. Pedro Miguel was not satisfied with this decision, so he took the case to the Social Court No. 26 of Madrid to challenge the administrative resolution.
Right to retirement pension due to severe disability
In the first instance, the Social Court No. 26 of Madrid ruled in favor of the plaintiff, revoking the Social Security decision. For the court, the plaintiff met the medical and legal requirements to be recognized as severely disabled despite having previously accessed disability retirement. According to the court, he had already been declared in absolute permanent disability since 1994, and his clinical condition had worsened over time, which justified the right to severe disability, with an initial pension of 1,630.97 euros plus a supplement of 619.22 euros (a total of 2250.19 euros).
The non-compliant Social Security filed an appeal before the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid (TSJM), but the same was dismissed for the same reasons. The TSJM highlighted that there was no incompatibility between early retirement due to disability and the major disability benefit. Social Security complained again, this time presenting an appeal for the unification of doctrine before the Supreme Court.
Compatibility between retirement and major disability
The Supreme Court analyzed the case and its ruling was based on the rulings of the Constitutional Court 172/2021 and 191/2021, which established that the Early retirement due to disability does not exclude the right to additional benefits such as severe disabilityprovided that the legal requirements are met. Thus, the Chamber concluded that there was no contradiction between the compared sentences, since the factual and legal circumstances of the plaintiff’s case fully justified the favorable ruling. Furthermore, he highlighted that the interpretation of the INSS generated unjustified discrimination towards people with disabilities.
Finally, the Supreme Court rejected the appeal presented by Social Security, confirming the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice of Madrid and declaring the plaintiff’s right to receive the severe disability pension. This implies that you will have right to 100% of the pension, equivalent to 1,630.97 eurosplus a supplement of 619.22 euros, which adds up to an initial total of 2,250.19 euros per month, plus amounts not accrued since the application.