In Spain, thousands of women who interrupted their working lives to care for their children or were employed intermittently today depend on the widow’s pension. Although some, like Mercedes, earn enough income to live comfortably, their case reflects a generation that worked without being able to secure their own pension.
At 64 years old, Mercedes no longer works, but dedicates her time to a hobby that she is passionate about: genealogy, researching ancestors and family roots. “I am looking for information about baptisms, marriages and deaths in towns in Almería to help people find their ancestors,” he says. He travels three times a year to the province to consult archives and parishes. He doesn’t do it for work, but for vocation.
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A retiree who receives 1,100 euros in pension: “Half of it is to pay the rent and bills. I can only afford to eat once a day and I have a child in my care. Retirement is a misery”
Her source of income is her widow’s pension, after the death of her husband. “I’m collecting a widow’s pension, about 1,600 euros. It’s okay, there are many less than mine,” he acknowledges.
With the widow’s pension you do not need to work anymore
Mercedes worked for years in different sectors, such as “in quality control in an automotive company and later in customer service in a telephone company.” But her professional career stopped when she had children and she had to “leave it for them.”
Today he doesn’t plan to go back to work. “Now it is my hobby and to live whatever lies ahead,” he says. He trusts that the few years of contributions will allow him to access a small pension of his own in a few months. “I suppose it will count for something for my retirement and what I have now will be increased a little,” he says.
In Spain, to have the right to a contributory retirement pension It is necessary to have contributed for at least 15 years, of which two must be within the fifteen years prior to retirement. In 2025, the minimum pension Contributory tax is 874 euros per month (1,127 if you have a dependent spouse). Those who do not reach that contribution time can only access the non-contributory pensionwhich is around 565 euros per month.
Although she lives with stability, Mercedes is aware that her pension depends on her husband’s, a common situation among women of her generation who worked without paying enough contributions or in temporary jobs.
“Young people have always paid the pensions of the elderly”
Asked about the generational debate on pensions, Mercedes believes that “that has always been the case. People work so that others get paid,” she states naturally. Although he recognizes some uncertainty regarding the future and thinks that “possibly” young people will not have it, since “things are a little loose, it will be difficult.”
He also notices the pressure of rising prices. “Everything has gone up a lot,” he says. And he adds a reflection with a historical perspective: “Those of us who have experienced the peseta and now the euro, notice it more. It is a radical change.”