In Spain, the debate on the adequacy of pensions returns again and again to the foreground. Although contributory benefits are revalued each year With the CPI, many retirees claim that the increase does not compensate for the increase in the price of food, insurance or basic services. The situation especially affects those who have medium pensions and depend almost entirely on them to make ends meet.
In this sense, Eusebio Ponce, 75-year-old retired truck driverhe says in an interview for NewsWork how he faces his daily life with a pension of 1,300 euros per month, the result of a working life of four decades. “I have contributed for 40 years and this is what we have left… well, nothing,” he summarizes with resignation.
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The pension does not cover the rise in prices
Eusebio explains that his 1,300 euros include the two extra payments for summer and Christmas. Even so, he assures that the amount is insufficient to meet the current cost of living. “For 40 years of contributions I think it is not enough. I am a working person, I don’t understand politics, but I don’t see it as normal,” he says.
The 2.6% rise forecast for pensions in 2026 does not seem like a real solution either. “Why do they raise us 2.6% if everything else goes up afterwards? Food, cleaning, insurance… everything goes up more than the pension,” he explains. He says that, although he finished paying his mortgage seven years ago, he continues to feel constant financial pressure.
The comparison with the past is clear for him and he explains that “ten years ago you went with 20 euros and brought half a car. Now you go with 50 and you don’t bring anything.” Your feeling is common among many older people They think prices grow faster than their income.
Defends the right of retirees to receive a decent pension
Eusebio reflects on the pension system and the role of the new generations. “We retirees get paid because we have contributed. And those who come after us will have to work so that they can also get paid,” he points out.
He recognizes that many young people face low salaries and unstable jobs, but insists that contributions are essential to sustain the system and affirms that “they say they work a lot of hours and pay little, but you have to work.”
He also mentions the current retirement requirements and explains that they now require 37 years of contributions and being 65 years old. Even if you have them, if you retire early they take a certain percentage off,” he recalls, pointing out that the regulations have been toughened with respect to his generation.
However, the current conditions are even stricter, since the law establishes that to access ordinary retirement in 2025 it is required contribute 38 years and three months to retire at age 65 or wait until 66 years and 8 months if less contributions are available, in addition to having at least 15 years of contributions, of which at least 2 must be in the last 15 years.
He emigrated to Germany in the 70s
Eusebio’s working life was marked by sacrifice and emigration. He explains that “I went to Germany in the year 70. I left the countryside and got into trucks.” They were hard years, but the effort allowed his family’s situation to improve, and he excitedly remembers that “that’s where my mother bought her first refrigerator.”
Since then he spent 40 years at the controls of a truck, traveling long-distance routes and building a contribution career that today, he says, is not reflected in the pension he receives.
His testimony reflects the frustration of many retirees who see how their income does not keep up with the increase in the cost of living. While the debate on the sustainability of the systemand the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, defends that “it is sustainable”cases like Eusebio’s show the loss of purchasing power in old age.