The widow's pension of common law partners after the reform of Law 21/2021, of December 28

Abstract

Law 21/2021, of December 28, has given new wording to article 221 of the General Social Security Law. In this regard, it has reformed several important aspects in relation to the widow's pension in the case of de facto couples. The changes produced have been, in general, the following: the need to prove a stable coexistence for de facto couples with children in common is eliminated; no longer requires any economic requirements; access to pensions for former domestic partners is regulated. Along with this, it is allowed to request the widow's pension exceptionally during the year 2022 to de facto couples who did not meet the existing requirements prior to this reform. In short, the objective of this article is to analyze all these novelties that make up the current legal regime of the widow's pension in the case of de facto couples.