Widowhood pension reaches couples with children not formalized

MadridThe right to a widow's pension is being extended to those couples who live together and have children, but are not married or have not registered as a de facto couple. This is a family unit that often goes unnoticed because there is no official data, but which has grown over time (it is known, for example, that far fewer marriages are taking place) and in parallel to the transformation that the family has experienced—and is experiencing—in Spain. This Tuesday, the Spanish government approved a decree-law that plans to extend this right to these families: if there are children in common, the requirement to present formal registration of the de facto partnership is eliminated. From now on, the existence of children in common and proof of cohabitation will be sufficient, explained sources from the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration.

The change will be implemented once it is published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), but final approval requires validation, within a month, by the permanent deputation of Congress. The approximate cost of these measures is around 45 million euros, according to ministry sources.

However, this extension of the right to a widow's pension not only affects future survivors, but also those people whose partner, with whom they had a child, has died. In this case, they will have to prove two years of uninterrupted cohabitation through the municipal register. They have one year to provide the information and request the new benefit.

Orphanhood

It also improves protection in cases of orphanhood. Specifically, for children of women murdered by gender-based violence, contributory benefits are raised to a minimum of twice the minimum wage. Non-contributory ones may reach a maximum of twice the SMI. Public coverage is also improved to guarantee the collection of child support payments in cases of divorce or separation.

Furthermore, the decree also improves extraordinary pensions derived from terrorist acts: none may be set below the equivalent of two minimum wages (currently 2,442 euros per month), a figure 36% higher than the current aid.

Other benefits

At the same time, temporary disability benefits are being expanded for women suffering from pathologies associated with menopause and for workers who are victims of gender-based violence with injuries that prevent them from working. Regarding victims of sexist violence, the decree establishes that they will receive a benefit of 60% of the regulatory base until the 20th day of leave and 75% thereafter. The company will pay the salary on the day of leave, but subsequently, it will be Social Security that pays the aid.

For parents caring for minors with cancer or serious illnesses, the regulation improves the CUME benefit so that both parents can receive it alternately or simultaneously. In cases of greater vulnerability, the aid could be maintained beyond the age of 26, when the affected person presents a grade III dependency or an especially high disability greater than 75%.

The Minister of Social Security, Elma Saiz, stated in an interview with TVE that these are "highly requested" measures that respond to a broad social call. They are part, in any case, of a pre-campaign in which Pedro Sánchez wants to emphasize social policies – it is expected that every Tuesday a battery of measures in this direction will be approved –. Saiz, in fact, has claimed that there are two models to choose from, that of the Popular Party, which refuses to "believe in social dialogue" and that of the socialist party, which, according to the minister, advances in rights without leaving behind economic progress.