When a relative dies, the death must be reported to Social Security. Omitting this obligation is a reason for infraction and, in addition, the money collected improperly must be returned. Despite this, sometimes the picaresque wins the game over civic duty. This seems to be the case of a mother and son for whom the Madrid Prosecutor’s Office is requesting 18 months in prison for having collected the deceased grandmother’s pension for 20 years.
In total, the daughter and grandson of the deceased came to appropriate 148,794 euros despite being aware of the pensioner’s death. For this reason, the representative of the Public Ministry claims 37,250 euros as civil liability. The defendants have already repaid 111,544 euros to public coffers.
According to the indictment, M.I.C.M. and V.F.S.C. learned of the death of their relative on November 18, 1995, but they did not notify the National Social Security Institute (INSS) or Banco de Santander, the entity where the woman received the pension of which he was the holder.
For two decades, mother and son used the benefits of their mother and grandmother, respectively, to make purchases using the deceased woman’s bank card, have cash and pay liens for public debts of the husband and father, respectively, of the two defendants, who were co-owners of the same bank account with the deceased. Thus, until the end of November 2015, when the INSS realized what was happening.
Social Security informs on its website that the death of a relative who is a beneficiary of a pension must be reported to any of the Social Security Information and Attention Centers (CAISS) of the National Institute of Social Security. To do this, the pensioner’s death certificate must be provided within 30 days of the date of death. Ordinary monthly payments are paid in full, including the month in which the death occurred.
