Gay couples will have widow’s pension in Argentina

The Argentinean Social Security Office (ANSeS) has signed a resolution of national scope that recognize gay couples the right to a widow’s pension if they can demonstrate a coexistence of no less than five years, said today the newspaper Clarin.

The measure will benefit all those who can present evidence that coexisted with their partner for at least five years. The executive director of the ANSeS explained that this can be demonstrated by submitting documents certifying that the rent was paid by one member of the couple, while other accounts paid another, for example. This kind of mechanism is used to prove the coexistence of heterosexual couples.

The measure was agreed on Saturday by the president Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the chief Cabinet, Sergio Massa, the minister of Labor, Carlos Tomada and the ruler of the ANSeS, Amado Boudou.

Meanwhile, a survey by consultancy CEOP revealed that 59% of Argentines agreed with the measure and that young people between 18 and 34 years are the most commonly expressed in favour of the resolution (68.9%) .

Of the women surveyed said 64.4% agree that homosexual couples have access to a pension for widows, while among men the rate was 53.5%.