Social Security has just published the latest updated data on contributory pensions in Spain, in which the Government has allocated a total of 27,119.7 million euros, for the payment of both contributory pensions (13,720 million euros) plus the payment of the extraordinary Christmas pay (13,399.7 million euros), that is, it once again breaks a record and rises 44.2 million more compared to last month. As is the dynamic, retirements are the most abundant in the system, since there are more than 6.6 million pensioners, followed by the widow’s pension with 2.3 million and permanent disability pensions with just over a million beneficiaries.
Of the total expenditure for this month of November (not counting the extra Christmas pay) that the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has allocated to the payment of pensions, 10,032 million euros correspond to retirement pensions, 2,202 million to widows, 1,227 million to permanent disability, 177 million euros to orphans and 36.6 million euros to benefits for family members.
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Now, it must be taken into account that these are the average pensions and do not include the extra Christmas pay that will be paid along with the ordinary monthly payment. Given that the pension system is so dynamic and flexible, not all pensioners receive the same pension, since it varies depending not only on contributions or the total number of years worked, but also on the regime under which they contribute to Social Security.
The highest average pension
In the General Regime, the average retirement pension is 1,669.9 euros per month, according to the latest data from this month of November, so together with the extra they will receive 3,339.8 euros. Now, as usual, self-employed pensioners (those who are within the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers RETA) continue to receive the lowest amounts, with an average of 1,012.5 euros per month, that is, they do not even reach the Minimum Interprofessional Wage and that with the extra they will barely be around 2,025 euros.
But if we look at other regimes, the sector with the highest average pension continues to be Coal Mining, where the amount reaches 2,911.02 euros per month, which, adding the Christmas extra, will be the ones that will earn the most, reaching 5,822.04 euros, well above other regimes such as the Sea, with an average of 1,674.43 euros per month (3,348.86 euros with the extra).
Regarding the widow’s pension, the average for the system as a whole is 937.2 euros per month (1,874.4 euros with the extraordinary one). In the case of the orphan’s pension, this stands at 527.02 euros (1,054.04 euros with the Christmas extra) and that for family members rises to 784.25 euros.
It is worth remembering that Coal Mining has higher contribution bases than other workers, which explains the higher amount of their pensions. On the other hand, average pensions rise every month due to two factors: on the one hand, new registrations (new pensioners) by having a higher contribution base mean that the amount is higher, since the standard of living is growing, on the other hand, cancellations are usually for smaller amounts, which means that little by little the average increases.
New registrations
Until October, Social Security has registered a total of 312,375 new retirements. Of all these new registrations, 11.1% correspond to delayed retirements, a fact that confirms that more and more workers decide to extend their working life, far exceeding the 4.8% that this option represented in 2019.
Regarding the money pensioners receive, the average for the entire system (which includes retirement, widowhood, disability, etc.) has risen 4.4% compared to last year, standing at 1,316.7 euros per month. If we look only at the retirement pension, which is what almost 6.5 million people receive, the average reaches 1,511.5 euros per month, which represents an increase of 4.3% compared to a year ago.
How many pensions are paid and what type
In the month of November, Social Security has paid more than 10.4 million pensions, reaching 9.4 million people (it must be remembered that some beneficiaries receive more than one benefit at a time). Within the group that receives the main pension, men continue to be the majority, representing 59.1% of the total. To pay all these benefits, the monthly payroll has amounted to 13,720 million euros.
Logically, most of this money is allocated to retirement pensions: 10,032.7 million euros, which represents more than 73% of all spending. The rest is distributed between widow’s pensions (2,202.3 million), permanent disability (1,271 million), orphans’ pensions (177.5 million) and, finally, benefits for family members, with 36.7 million.
On the other hand, the supplement to reduce the gender gap now reaches 1,239,169 pensions, with 81.7% of those receiving it being women. This aid represents an average extra of 75.1 euros per month. If we look at why it is charged, almost half of the beneficiaries (48.5%) receive it for having two children, while 24.5% charge it for one child, 18% for three and 8.9% for four children.
Resolution of requests: just over 10 days
Social Security continues to resolve the procedures with great agility. According to the latest data from October, it takes an average of 10.14 days to process a retirement pension application and 13.53 days for widow’s pension applications. Although the times vary slightly each month, they are still well below the maximum period of 90 days established by law to provide a response.
Passive Classes
Regarding the Passive Classes regime, the monthly payroll for October amounted to 1,712.8 million euros, which with the extra will earn 3,425.6 euros. This means that spending has grown by 95.8 million (5.9% more) if we compare it with the same month last year.
Currently, there are 734,700 pensions in force within this system, which represents an increase of 2% annually (about 6,600 pensions more than in October 2024). It must be remembered that this regime mainly protects military personnel and officials of the General Administration of the State, Justice and the General Courts, in addition to officials transferred to the autonomous communities.