A woman has been denied the collection of her widow’s pension after the death of her ex-husband, despite the fact that the National Social Security Institute (INSS) initially recognized that she met the requirements to be a beneficiary. The Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of Castilla y León determines that the widow’s pension is incompatible in her specific case with the retirement pension she is already receiving, preventing her from collecting both amounts at the same time, since, since it is a divorce of more than 20 years without compensatory pension, the law requires not collecting another public benefit to be able to access this aid.
After her ex-husband died in 2023, whose marriage ended in 2000, with divorce in 2002, the woman requested a widow’s pension. Social Security was recognized, with an amount of 337.45 euros per month, but “without economic effects.” The reason is that the widow’s pension was lower than the retirement pension that Andrea already received and, in her opinion, in her legal situation they could not be made compatible. Not being satisfied, the woman went to court.
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As a general rule, in Spain you can collect both a retirement pension and a widow’s pension (as long as the maximum pension set for public pensions is not exceeded). However, there are very specific exceptions in the law intended to regulate situations of the past, and that has been the insurmountable obstacle in this litigation.
The Social Court number 3 of León ruled in favor of Social Security, and now the Social Chamber of the TSJ of Castilla y León has confirmed that ruling. The magistrates explain that to resolve the case we must look at three pieces of information: that, between the separation and the death, more than 20 years passed, the woman did not receive a compensatory pension from her ex-husband and currently she already receives a public pension.
The rule forces you to choose between one of the two pensions
To understand this ruling, one must know that the court resorts to Transitional Provision 13 of the General Social Security Law (TRLGSS). This article establishes an exceptional way for people separated or divorced decades ago, and who did not have a compensatory pension, to access widowhood. But it imposes a requirement which is not to be a recipient of another public pension.
Although the defense tried to modify this by alleging that in the divorce the ex-husband assumed the couple’s mortgage debts for more than 29 million pesetas, seeking to demonstrate “economic dependence.” However, the TSJ rejected the argument, pointing out that the plaintiff hid data in a “partial and interested” way, since in that marital distribution the deceased also kept a much larger lot of property and assets.
Based on the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court, the ruling clarifies the real effect of already collecting a pension when requesting this exceptional widowhood. The TSJ literally emphasizes that collecting another pension: “It is not a requirement that prevents the recognition of the pension, but rather the beneficiary can choose between two incompatible pensions.”
In plain language: Social Security did well to recognize on paper that she is a widow, but the law prohibits her from adding both incomes. As they are incompatible, the regulations force the pensioner to choose the benefit that is most economically favorable to them.
In conclusion, the court rules that Andrea “You cannot make this compatible with the widow’s pension to which you are entitled through transitional provision 13.2 of the TRLGSS, having to choose between one or the other”. As her current pension is higher than the 337.45 euros for widowhood, the woman is left collecting only her pension, losing the economic effects of the second benefit.