Punta Arenas couple receives Golden Wedding Anniversary benefit

Gloria de Lourdes Vera Maldonado and Samuel Humberto Hewstone Avendaño were honored in Punta Arenas after celebrating 50 years of marriage. The couple received the ‘Bono Bodas de Oro’, a one-time state benefit for married couples who have reached their golden anniversary.

The ceremony was held at the Instituto de Previsión Social (IPS) branch in Punta Arenas and attended by family members and regional officials, including the Seremi of Labor and Social Security, José Miguel Salas. The couple, who met when they were 17 years old, were joined by their children and granddaughter to mark the milestone.

The Bono Bodas de Oro currently amounts to $463,166, which is divided equally between both spouses. To qualify for this benefit, couples must be neither separated nor divorced, belong to the most vulnerable 80% of the population according to the Registro Social de Hogares, and have resided in the country for at least four of the previous five years.