Spain changes child-related retirement bonus: Only parents truly affected by career breaks will qualify
The government narrows access to the child pension supplement to tackle gender pension inequality
The Spanish government is making important changes to the child retirement supplement, a benefit designed to help parents with their retirement income. Until now, this monthly bonus of €35.90 per child was given automatically to nearly all mothers, and some fathers, when they retired. But soon, only parents whose work lives were seriously affected by having or adopting children will be able to claim it.Historically, this supplement was almost exclusively for mothers and was granted automatically upon retirement. Men were not eligible unless they met strict conditions proving that their career was disrupted by caring for children.
After a European Union ruling in 2019 declared this discriminatory, Spain allowed men access to the bonus but kept additional obstacles for them. A second EU ruling this year found these obstacles unfair, forcing the government to change the rules again. Now, men and women will be treated equally, but only those whose careers were truly affected will qualify.
Under the draft Royal Decree-Law from the Ministry of Social Security, to qualify, retirees must prove their professional career worsened due to childrearing responsibilities.
To show this, parents must meet one or more conditions such as a gap of more than 90 days in social security contributions during pregnancy and up to six years after birth. Another option is demonstrating a drop of more than 10% in earnings compared to the previous two years. Also, if a parent had little or no work before having the child, they might qualify.
Unlike before, parents won’t receive this bonus automatically; it will be necessary to apply for it. The change could cut the number of recipients significantly. Around 1.1 million women currently receive the supplement, and they make up most of the beneficiaries.
This benefit aims to reduce the gender gap in pensions, since women retire with pensions nearly €500 lower on average than men. Officials say the new rules respect EU law while still trying to support women who lose out in their careers because of family care.
The child pension supplement has been under scrutiny for a while. The EU first challenged the system in 2019 for excluding men. The government allowed men to claim the supplement from 2021 but with barriers, which led to a second ruling that forced this current reform.
In short, anyone planning retirement and relying on this bonus should be ready to prove their career was affected by childrearing and to submit a claim. The goal is a fairer system that targets those who truly need extra pension support due to their family sacrifices.
You might also be interested in: Spanish workers face another pay cut as pension tax bites harder
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