Social Security will pay the November pension and the extra Christmas pay on Tuesday, December 1, although most banking entities will be able to advance it, and Unicaja will make the payment on Monday, November 23. Pensioners receive 14 payments a year, twelve monthly payments and two extraordinary payments, in June and November, and that is why this income will be double the usual amount for the majority of the more than 9.5 million people who receive a pension.
The 12 monthly payments plus the two extraordinary payments are regulated by article 46.1 of the General Social Security Law, which recognizes contributory pensions for common contingencies as “two extraordinary payments that will accrue in the months of June and November” (accruing means generating the right to collect it). The November one is generated between June 1 and November 30, and that is why pensioners receive it before the majority of employees, who collect it in December.
The extra pay is the same as an ordinary monthly payment when the pension has been collected during the entire accrual period, and the revaluation is also applied, so it will be the same amount as an ordinary payroll (if 1,800 euros of pension are collected, 1,800 euros of extraordinary payment will be collected).
What day is the pension and extra Christmas pay collected?
The pension is always collected in arrears between “the first business day of the month in which the payment is made and, at most, the fourth calendar day of said month”, as stated in article 24.2 of Royal Decree 696/2018. In 2026, that is Tuesday, December 1, and the last possible day, Friday, December 4.
Now, most banks advance that deposit to the last week of November, but each one decides what day to deposit it. Unicaja, for example, will be one of the first and will pay it on Monday, November 23, as explained on its official blog. Most entities will make the deposit between November 23 and 25, although no bank is obliged to advance it. These would be the estimated dates:
- Bankinter, Monday, November 23.
- Caja de Ingenieros, Monday, November 23.
- CaixaBank, Tuesday, November 24.
- Ibercaja, Wednesday, November 25.
- BBVA, Wednesday, November 25.
- Banco Sabadell, Wednesday, November 25.
- ING, Wednesday, November 25.
- Kutxabank, Wednesday, November 25.
- Abanca, Wednesday, November 25.
- Cajamar, Wednesday, November 25.
Who does not receive the full extra pay
Not all pensioners receive double income. According to Social Security, pensions for work accidents and occupational illnesses are paid in 12 payments, because the extraordinary ones “are prorated in the ordinary monthly payments.” That pensioner already collects a part of the extra every month and in November he receives the same as always.
Whoever began collecting the pension after June 1, or had it suspended for part of that time, receives one sixth for each month collected between June and November, and a single day of pension is enough for that month to count in its entirety. For example, a retiree with a pension of 1,200 euros who collects it since September 20 adds three months (September, October and November) and will receive an extra payment of 600 euros.
SEPE benefits do not have extra pay either. Unemployment and subsidies, also for those over 52 years of age, are paid in 12 monthly installments. Non-contributory retirement and disability pensions do collect it, because article 46.2 of the same law also recognizes 14 payments.
Those born in 1962 will be able to retire in 2027 at age 65 if they have contributed 38 years and six months, but the rest will have to complete them or wait until 2029 to collect the pension without a cut.
Venancio Cócera, retired with almost 47 years of contributions since he was 14: “They reward me with a reduction coefficient of 13% of my pension”
If Friday, December 4, arrives and the pension is still not in the account, the first thing is to ask the bank in case there is any withholding or an error with the account number. And if the bank says that everything is fine, then you have to make a claim to Social Security (the INSS), either through the electronic office or by making an appointment to go to an office.