In July, Social Security paid a record 10,845.9 million euros in pensions, marking a 4.6% increase from the same month in 2021, according to the Ministry of Social Security and Immigration.
The department, led by Jose Luis Escrivá, reported that pension expenditure reached 11.8% of GDP in July. This proportion is lower than 2020, when pensions accounted for 12.4% of GDP, a year heavily affected by the pandemic, and also lower than 2021, when it stood at 12.1% of GDP.
Of the total payroll, 72.4% or 7,848.3 million euros was disbursed for pension payments.
Additionally, 1,832.7 million euros were allocated to widows’ pensions, with funds also dedicated to permanent disability benefits at 986 million euros. The plan earmarked 150.5 million euros for orphans and 28.4 million for assistance to relatives.
Across the same month in 2021, a total of 9,946,399 contributions were recorded. Of these, 6,253,855 were for retirement, 2,352,401 for widow’s pensions, 952,409 for permanent disability, 343,264 for orphans, and 44,470 for related dependents.
When retirees are counted, the total pensioner base exceeds nine million people. There are 4.6 million retired men and 4.4 million retired women, by gender.
In terms of pensioner coverage, the average benefits per person stand at 1.1 payments per pensioner.
The most common pension type in July was retirement, followed by widow pensions, with 6.1 million and 1.6 million recipients respectively. Other major categories include permanent disability (946,843), orphans (325,973), and a smaller group receiving benefits for relatives.
Average pension of 1,090.4 euros
The system’s average pension rose to 1,090.4 euros per month in July. This average encompasses retirement, permanent disability, widow, orphan, and relative pensions. It reflects a 5.5% year-over-year increase and a 3.9% rise when considered in a broader, uniform context.
The average monthly pension across the system is 1,255 euros.
Under the plans, the General Plan’s average pension was 1,403.8 euros per month, while the lowest average occurred within the Self-Employed Plan at 835.4 euros per month.
In Coal Mining, the average monthly pension is 2,446.3 euros, and in the Marine Regime, it is 1,393.39 euros.
Gender gap supplements
As of July 1, 282,391 pensions receive the gender gap supplement, with more than 93.3% corresponding to women (263,431). The average monthly amount of this supplement is 61.6 euros.
Additionally, 21.2% of these supplementary pensions go to retirees with a child who did not have access to maternity supplements before.
Moreover, 47.4% of beneficiaries have two children (133,764); 20.1% have three (56,799); and four children account for 11.3% (31,957).
The gender gap supplement, in effect since February 2021, adds a fixed amount of 28 euros per child per month starting from the first child. It is paid alongside the pension and reflects a 2022 revaluation, with the per-child approach continuing.
On the labor front, the monthly payroll for Passive Classes reaches 2,609.3 million euros, based on the latest available data that includes the extraordinary June 2022 payment, representing an 7.8% increase from the previous year.
The number of effective pensions rose to 683,289, a 1.9% year-over-year increase, equating to 12,528 more pensions than in the same month of the prior year.
The State’s Passive Class Regime primarily covers military personnel and civilian staff within the General State Administration, the Administration of Justice, the General Courts, and other constitutional or government bodies, as well as civil servants seconded to autonomous communities.