Social Security has denied a widow’s pension to a woman from Girona who had shared six years of life with her partner, had had two children with him and was registered at the same address for more than six years. The reason is that the couple never formalized the relationship before a municipal, regional or notary registry. The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia thus agrees with the National Social Security Institute, explaining that, to be entitled to this pension, formal registration is a mandatory requirement that cannot be skipped due to a flexible interpretation of the law.
As explained in the ruling STSJ CAT 2212/2026 (available at this link from the Judiciary), one month after the death of her partner on August 12, 2023, the woman requested a widow’s pension by providing the family book, the joint registration certificate and the birth certificates of the two children together, but this was denied. Social Security explained that the relationship did not meet the requirements of articles 219, 220 and 221 of the General Social Security Law, which regulate access to the benefit when there is no marriage.
221 says that the couple must be registered in a specific registry, either from the city council or the autonomous community of the place of residence, or have signed the constitution as a couple before a notary. Whatever the route, the formalization must have occurred at least two years before death. This minimum notice is what distinguishes, in the eyes of the system, a de facto couple “by law” from a simple stable cohabitation.
After dismissing her claim, the woman went to court and the Social Court 1 of Girona agreed with the Social Security despite the fact that this woman cited ruling 480/2021 of the Supreme Court, which years ago had opened the door to alternative evidence to registration. If the benefit had been recognized, the monthly regulatory base would have been 1,211.77 euros (although, remember, 52% of the regulatory base is charged).
Common children are not exempt from registration either.
He did not accept defeat and appealed. The TSJ of Catalonia has not agreed with him either and explains why the route he invoked is no longer available. The Fourth Chamber of the Supreme Court, in ruling 579/2024, and the Third Chamber itself in subsequent resolutions have redirected the doctrine to the strict text of the law. Formal registration is a constitutional requirement, not a bureaucratic formality, and registration “in any case will prove cohabitation, but not the registration of the de facto couple.”
The magistrates rely on a recent ruling from the High Court, 212/2025 of March 25, which summarized the consolidated doctrine with a forceful phrase: “The widow’s pension that the norm establishes is not in favor of all “de facto” couples with five years of proven cohabitation, but for the exclusive benefit of “registered” de facto couples.” They add that ownership of the right “only corresponds to ‘legal couples’ and not to genuine ‘de facto couples’.” The distinction is not only terminological, it is what separates having a pension from not having one.
The Superior Court of Justice of Catalonia has dismissed the appeal and thus confirms the lower court ruling. The woman is left without financial benefits despite six years of shared life and two children together. There is still an appeal against the ruling for the unification of doctrine before the Fourth Chamber of the Supreme Court, which must be prepared within ten days following notification.