The workers who retired this September have done so with an average pension of 1,757.97 euros per month (the latest registration data provided by Social Security), 180 euros more than the average of all retirees, which in October stands at 1,577.61 euros. However, the average pension for self-employed retirees is 1,063.53 euros per month, an amount that does not even reach the minimum interprofessional salary, set at 1,221 euros in 14 payments for 2026.
According to the press release published by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration that was published this Tuesday, the system’s average pension (which includes all retirement, permanent disability, widowhood, orphanhood and family benefits) stands at 1,376.14 euros, 4.6% more than a year ago, and the retirement pension grows by 4.5% (the minimum, average and maximum amounts of retirement pensions in 2026). can be consulted in this table).
For this month of October, 10,565,782 pensions have been paid to 9,554,384 pensioners (this is the case, since some collect two or more pensions at the same time), with an expense for Social Security of 14,540 million euros. Of this expense, almost three out of every four euros (10,692.9 million, 73.5%) go to the 6,777,927 retirement pensions.
The average pension of the self-employed and that of Ourense does not reach the minimum wage
According to data from the Ministry, the average retirement pension from the General Regime (that of employed workers) reaches 1,735.91 euros per month, while that of the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers is 1,063.53 euros, 672.38 euros less each month and 9,413.32 euros less per year counting the 14 payments.
With this average, the average pension of self-employed retirees is 157.47 euros below the minimum wage for this year, which is 14 payments, the same as the pension. The minimum pension for a 65-year-old retiree without a dependent spouse is 936.20 euros per month. Whoever does not arrive can access the minimum complement.
On the other side, there are coal mining retirees, who have an average pension of 3,006.13 euros, 353.47 euros from the maximum pension in 2026 (3,359.60 euros per month). In reality, the lowest pension is the SOVI (the old Mandatory Old-Age and Disability Insurance), which is 538.96 euros, but clarify that this belongs to the old system and that is why there are fewer and fewer beneficiaries.
By province, the highest average retirement pension is found in Bizkaia with 1,943.10 euros, followed by Álava (1,927.19) and Gipuzkoa (1,860.49). Meanwhile, the lowest average pension in Spain is found in Ourense, with 1,144.37 euros, which is also the only province in which it does not reach the minimum wage. This is followed by Lugo, with 1,244.01 euros. Between the highest and the lowest there is a difference of 798.73 euros per month, although it is worth remembering that this does not always coincide with the place where the pensioner lives.
More than 81,000 retirees collect their pension and continue working
In October, a total of 81,082 pensioners combine their pension with a job at the same time, which is 8.8% more than a year ago, with an average amount of 1,053.7 euros per month. The formula they most choose is the active retirement, that is, the one that pays half of the pension (38,386), and the full active one, which pays 100%, adds another 15,383, although both respond to previous versions of the law.
Since April 1, 2025, the new wording of article 214 of the General Social Security Law has been in force, which was approved by Royal Decree-Law 11/2024 and which requires having delayed retirement for at least one year from the ordinary age. The percentage depends on the years of delay (45% with one year, 55% with two, 65% with three, 80% with four and 100% with five or more) and increases 5 points for every 12 consecutive months active, as we explain in this guide to active retirement.
Self-employed workers who have hired a permanent worker with at least 18 months of seniority, or who hire a new one who has not worked for them in the previous two years, charge 75% if the delay is one to three years. With this formula, 20,411 pensions are already paid: 15,955 on the general scale, which starts at 45%, and 4,456 on the self-employed scale, which starts at 75%. Another 1,506 are compatible with artistic creation, 34.9% more than a year ago.
Until September, Social Security has registered 282,221 new retirement registrations, and 11.5% have been voluntary delayed retirements (those of those who continue working beyond their ordinary age), 6.7 points more than in 2019. The average age of access to the pension has gone from 64.4 years in 2019 to 65.4, something that the Ministry attributes to the voluntary delay of retirement since there are fewer early retirements. 68.9% of those who have retired this year (194,386) have done so at the ordinary age.
Social Security increases the minimum pension for retirees who now have their spouse in charge, more than 320 euros per month in 2026 and more than 400 in 2027 according to the law, whenever they request it.
The minimum pension for retirees over 65 without a spouse would reach 1,018 euros per month in 2027, while those with a dependent spouse will receive about 415 euros more
The gap supplement reaches more than 1.7 million pensions
For this month, 1,736,331 pensions have received the supplement to reduce the gender gap. 69.1% of the beneficiaries are women (1,200,657) and 535,674 are men, after these tripled between September 2025 and September 2026. The average amount of this supplement is 76.7 euros per month, and half of the beneficiaries (885,787) receive it for having two children. The amount is 36.90 euros per month per child and up to a maximum of four.