The government had already announced that pensions would increase by 2.7% next year, but had not yet specified to what extent minimum and non-contributory pensions, those received by the most vulnerable retirees, would increase. Once again, these typologies go far beyond the general revaluation of the system: minimum family pensions will increase by 11.4% in 2026, as will non-contributory pensions and the minimum vital income (IMV). Minimum pensions without family charges will increase by 7%.
This was detailed on Tuesday by the Minister of Social Security, Elma Saiz, who also made her debut at the press conference after the Council of Ministers as government spokesperson. The government also approved the ban on evictions without alternative housing for vulnerable families, the ban on cuts in basic supplies (electricity, water and gas) and the extension of the social electricity bonus, the result of an agreement with EH Bildu announced this Monday by the Basque group.
All this, combined with the increase in pensions, constitutes what the government calls the “social shield”. The Executive confirms that all these measures will go hand in hand in a single project, which must be validated by Parliament within a maximum period of one month. The PP had predicted that it would support the revaluation of pensions if the government presented it without mixing it with other measures. By not going separately, PP sources do not guarantee support for the government initiative.
Minimum pensions are the lowest monthly amounts of contributory benefits (those generated by contributions throughout working life). These minimums vary depending on whether the retiree has reached a certain age and whether or not he has dependent family members, and as long as he does not exceed an established income ceiling. In other words, minimum pensions constitute the contributory floor, while maximum pensions constitute the ceiling. When a retiree does not reach this minimum, once the benefit that would correspond to him has been calculated, what are called minimum supplements are activated, also determined by the situation of the beneficiary. According to the latest Social Security data, there are 2.12 million pensions supplemented by minimums in Spain. As detailed by Saiz, the minimums with family responsibilities will increase by 11.4% and without them they will increase by 7%.
In total, there are 10.42 million contributory pensions in Spain, from which 9.42 million retirees benefit. There are more benefits than people because there are those who receive more than one pension. By gender, 4.74 million men receive at least one pension and 4.68 million women. By type of contributory pension, the highest are retirement pensions (1,511 euros per month), which are also the most numerous (6.63 million benefits) and characterized by a deep gap between the sexes: men earn 1,728 euros on average and women, with more unstable careers, 1,209 euros. There are also 2.35 million widow’s pensions (926 euros per month on average) and one million contributory benefits for permanent disability (1,211 euros).
For elderly people who have not contributed sufficiently to Social Security throughout their lives and who lack sufficient resources, the system deploys the network of non-contributory pensions, which increase by 11.4%. Social Security pays 471,000 non-contributory benefits. 63% of these pensions correspond to women.
The government also announced an 11.4% increase in the IMV, the state benefit which attempts to guarantee a minimum subsistence level for the most vulnerable people. In November, this benefit reached 785,722 households in which 2.4 million people live, according to the latest statistics published by Social Security.
The general system increase of 2.7% is the product of the interannual average of inflation over the last 12 months. In 2021, the Government consolidated the law according to which benefits generally increase in line with price developments, with the aim of maintaining the purchasing power of benefits.
Increased expenses
The increases announced this Tuesday by the government coincide with those recently planned by the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (Ivie). And, on the basis of this data, these specialists anticipated that the average effective revaluation of the system would be 3.44%. They also calculated how far the total expenditure of the system will go: “It is estimated that total expenditure for public pensions would approach 229.491 million euros in 2026, or 5.81% more than in 2025”, indicates Ivie. These specialists indicate that the revaluation increases expenses by 7.311 million euros, while the number of pensions and the substitution effect (newcomers receive better benefits than those who received die) amount to 5.299 million euros. “In macroeconomic terms, this would place spending at around 13% of GDP assuming nominal growth of 5% in 2026,” adds Ivie.
The Spanish pension system faces a major challenge. The growing pressure of this position on public spending is strongly questioned by various political and economic voices, especially by the retirement of the very populous generation of baby boomthe low Spanish birth rate and the increase in benefits for those now entering retirement. According to European Commission projections, Spain will be the OECD country that will devote the largest proportion of its GDP to paying pensions in 2050, i.e. 16.8%. The government defends that the demographics are stubborn and that it is possible to cope with the increase in expenses, but critical voices are raised to affirm that this project absorbs too high a share of the public pie and that this negatively affects the rest of the citizens.
The position of the PP
The revaluation of pensions was approved by decree-law in the Council of Ministers, it therefore requires validation by Parliament within a maximum period of one month. The government specifies that the revaluation will be presented to Congress only for the rest of the “social shield”, which calls into question the PP’s support for the measure. Popular leaders argued that they would support the pension increase if it were presented separately. Along the same lines, the majority group in the House supported the increase in civil servants’ salaries two weeks ago.
The discussion about the PP’s position is linked to the controversy that occurred earlier this year. In January, Alberto Núñez Feijóo ordered the cancellation of the omnibus decree which contained the revaluation of pensions for 2025 because the government had included other measures such as the transfer of a private mansion in Paris to the PNV. After the enormous political storm against which this vote provoked the Popular Party, the leader of the PP was forced to rectify and approve the second decree presented by the Government, with similar characteristics. Despite weak parliamentary support for the government and the fact that the current budget covers 2023, the government reassesses pensions each year based on price developments. On this issue, the Executive has always found the necessary support, even after the first rejection of the PP (and the Junts) in January 2025.
Other approved measures
During the government meeting, the inter-professional minimum wage (1,184 euros gross in 14 payments) was also extended, pending the retroactive increase that Labor will promote upon return from the Christmas holidays. Likewise, the Executive announced the maintenance of tax incentives for individuals and businesses to purchase electric vehicles, install charging stations or carry out energy efficiency work in homes; extending aid to those affected by the damage; the additional contribution for environmental agents and forest firefighters to advance their retirement; and for nursing staff, the possibility for general practitioners, family doctors and pediatricians to make their retirement pension compatible with their activity is extended by one year.
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