Pension System Highlights and Trends in June

This Social Security data shows a record June payment of 11,997.2 million euros allocated to the regular monthly payroll. Contributory pensions are 10.7% higher than in the same month of the previous year, and 11% higher than in 2021, with an additional 11,694.9 million euros added to the extraordinary June payment, as reported by the Ministry of Social Inclusion on Tuesday. Security and Transitions.

In June this year, 10,040,732 contributory pensions were paid, a 1% rise from a year earlier. A total of 10,019,750 pensioners receive extra pay, with an average of 1,167.2 euros, up 9.9% from the previous year.

This overpayment is distributed in 12 installments to all pensions, except those arising from work accidents and occupational disease, because the surplus follows the regular monthly payments.

The regular monthly payroll of premium pensions surpassed 11,000 million euros for the first time in January and is approaching 12,000 million. The rise stems from the pension reform, which increased benefits by 8.5% through 2023 due to the average inflation for December 2021 to November 2022.

The department led by Jose Luis Escrivá estimates retirement spending at 11.7% of GDP in the last twelve months, the same percentage as 2022, but lower than 2020 (12.4% of GDP), a year shaped by the pandemic’s impact on GDP and by 2021 (12.1% of GDP).

Almost three quarters (72.9%) of the 11,997.2 million euros allocated to the June regular payroll went to pension payments, totaling 8,740.3 million euros, up 11.5% from June of the previous year.

A widow’s pension totaling 2,002.2 million euros was allocated, up 9.4% from a year earlier, while 1,059.8 million euros (+7.4%) went to permanent incapacity benefits.

Orphan aid payments for their own share reached 163.4 million euros (+8.8%), and aid for family members totaled 31.6 million euros (+11.6%).

Pension for 6.2 million people, main pension

In June this year, just over nine million retirees received 10,040,732 contributory pensions, up 1% from a year earlier. More than 6.35 million pensions are main pensions; 2.35 million are widow’s pensions; 946,559 people are permanently disabled; 341,443 are on orphan’s pensions and about 44 thousand are supported by relative benefits.

Of the total retirees counted on June 1 this year, 4.6 million are men and 4.5 million are women. The average pensions per retiree sits at 1.1.

The main pension is received by 6.2 million people, with 60.4% of recipients being men; the largest single category is being widowed, affecting 1.5 million people (94% women); the main benefit for 941,586 pensioners is permanent disability; 323,870 people are supported as orphans, and about 44 thousand retirees have other relative support.

Average pension of 1,374.9 euros per month

After the CPI-based increase implemented at the start of the year, the average pension rose by 9.6% year over year in June, reaching 1,374.9 euros per month.

The average pension in the General Plan is 1,532.7 euros per month, while the Self-Employed Program averages 915.6 euros. In Coal Mining, the average pension is 2,680.7 euros, and in Sea it stands at 1,523.9 euros.

The May data for new pension enrollments show an average of 1,352.3 euros per month.

In June, the average widow’s pension was 851.8 euros per month, up 9.4% year over year. The overall average across all pension types, including permanent disability, widowhood, orphans, and related well-being payments, was 1,194.9 euros per month on June 1.

The ministry reported in May that the average time to resolve pension files was 10.4 days, and 16.4 days for widows’ pensions, based on the latest data available.

By law, the Department headed by Escrivá sets a maximum resolution time of 90 days for both retirement and widower’s pensions.

Passive classes

At the end of May this year, the number of active pensions for passive classes stood at 694,838, up 1.7% from May 2022, with total payments of 1,472.4 million euros.

The State Passive Class Regime covers military personnel and officials across the General State Administration, the Administration of Justice, General Courts, other constitutional bodies, and civil servants who have moved to autonomous communities.

More than 518,000 retirees receive a supplement for the gender gap

As of June 1, 518,183 retirees received the gender gap supplement, designed to gradually equalize the average pension between men and women.

The average monthly amount of this supplement, paid at a rate of 91.4% to women, is 65.8 euros. Of the 518,183 beneficiaries, 117,572 have children, 244,028 have two children, 101,042 have three, and 55,541 have four.

Since February 2021, the supplement has been a fixed 30.4 euros per child per month after the 2023 revaluation, applying from the first child up to a maximum of four and requested when the pension is granted.