A telecommunications company was forced, by the 2nd panel of the Regional Labor Court of Minas Gerais, to grant a pension to a gay partner upon the death of the partner. The benefit holder worked at the company and had retired a year before his death. The company, which has a program that allocates funds to its retirees, granted the benefit to its employee's mother, despite him not having indicated any dependents when filling out the retirement program documents and his homosexual partner having requested the benefit from the company. The determining factor for the judges to grant the benefit to the homosexual partner was proof of economic dependence, through a certificate issued by an official social security body. According to the reporting judge, the existence of a homosexual relationship between the insured person and the social security beneficiary is not a determining factor for the recognition of dependent status, because it is established due to the economic link between that person and the insured person. The couple had been together for more than 20 years.
