Granddaughter jailed after spending dead grandmother’s pension for years in Spain

Imagine discovering that a loved one’s pension has continued landing in the bank account for years after their death. For one Spanish family, the money did not simply go unnoticed. It became the centre of an extraordinary court battle, ending with a granddaughter being sentenced to prison after spending thousands of euros that never belonged to her.

In a case that has shocked Spain, the Supreme Court has overturned the woman’s previous acquittal, ordering her to repay almost €30,000 and handing her a two-year prison sentence. The pension had continued arriving long after her grandmother died, with the money allegedly funding withdrawals, shopping, transfers and household bills.

The case raises an uncomfortable question: how long can someone keep collecting a dead relative’s pension before the consequences catch up with them?

Pension continued after grandmother’s death

According to the court ruling, the grandmother died on December 27, 1988, but her widow’s pension continued to be paid into a bank account held jointly with her daughter.

When the daughter also died in August 2013, the account remained active.

Neither the National Social Security Institute (INSS) nor the bank appeared to realise that the original pension recipient had been dead for decades. As a result, monthly payments continued until December 2019.

The granddaughter subsequently used the account, despite knowing that the money deposited came exclusively from her grandmother’s pension.

Court documents detail how she made cash withdrawals, bank transfers, card payments and arranged direct debits from the account.

In total, €61,834.46 in pension payments entered the account during the period examined by the court.

The account was not finally closed until May 2021.

Supreme Court overturns previous acquittal

The case took an unexpected turn because the woman had initially escaped conviction.

Both the Provincial Court of Asturias and the High Court of Justice of Asturias had previously acquitted her. However, the Social Security authorities challenged that decision, taking the matter to the Supreme Court.

In its ruling, dated October 7, 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the appeal and found that the woman’s conduct amounted to fraud involving Social Security benefits.

The judges stressed that the fact that the bank and the INSS had failed to carry out proper checks did not make the payments legitimate.

Although both institutions had fallen short in monitoring whether the pension recipient was still alive, this did not remove the granddaughter’s responsibility to report the death and stop benefiting from money she was not entitled to receive.

The ruling reinforces the obligation to notify the relevant authorities when a pensioner’s entitlement ends.

Nearly €30,000 repayment and prison sentence

The consequences for the granddaughter are significant.

The Supreme Court sentenced her to two years in prison and ordered her to pay €29,658 to the National Social Security Institute as civil compensation.

She was also banned from receiving public subsidies and enjoying certain tax and Social Security benefits for three years.

The repayment figure reflects the money that remained outstanding after amounts already returned were deducted.

Although €61,834.46 had been paid into the account, the bank had already reimbursed €39,176.22 to the Social Security Treasury for payments made between January 2016 and December 2019.

The remaining balance formed the basis of the compensation ordered by the court.

The decision overturns the earlier judgments in her favour and sends a clear warning about the consequences of continuing to receive a deceased relative’s pension.

For families across Spain, the message is simple: a relative’s death must be reported to the relevant authorities. Having access to their bank account does not give anyone the right to keep their pension.