With the end of the year approaching, all pensioners and retirees want to know how much pensions will rise in 2026. Although exact figures cannot yet be known, since we must wait for the final data on the interannual CPI, what is known is that pensions will rise whether or not there is a General State Budget (PGE). In this sense, labor lawyer Víctor Arpa wanted to explain how much permanent disability pensions will rise by 2026.
In his video he explains that the revaluation “although moderate, will serve to maintain the purchasing power of pensioners in the face of rising prices.” According to estimates made by some experts such as Funca and BBVA, the average pension for permanent disability will go from 1,209 euros to approximately 1,239 euros per month, while the “minimum pensions will be around 900 euros without a spouse and 1,158 euros with a dependent spouse.”
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“The maximum pensions will also grow until they reach 3,355 euros per month,” explains Arpa, explaining that this figure is updated in accordance with the thirty-ninth transitional provision of Royal Decree 2/2023 (I consulted in this BOE) that introduces a formula in the 2023 pension reform, in which the maximum amount will grow according to the average CPI plus an additional increase of 0.115% annually until 2050.
An increase in pensions guaranteed by law
From 2022, contributory pensions (including those for permanent disability) are revalued each year according to the evolution of the average CPI for the twelve months prior to December of the previous year. This is established in article 58.2 of the General Social Security Law, modified by Royal Decree-Law 2/2023, which guarantees that “all pensions in the system, including the gender gap supplement, will be automatically updated at the beginning of each year.”
“This means that no pensioner will lose purchasing power, because the increase is calculated based on real inflation and not on political or budgetary estimates,” explains Arpa.
Additional increases for minimum and non-contributory pensions
In addition to the general update by CPI, the Government maintains an additional increase plan for the lowest pensions, which are the most vulnerable. As Royal Decree-Law 2/2023 shows, minimum and non-contributory pensions will rise above the CPI in 2026, in such a way that they will continue to comply with this calendar that will end in 2027.
The objective sought is for the minimum amounts to reach the poverty threshold calculated for a household of two adults before 2027. In this way, in 2026 these pensions will increase by a percentage necessary to reduce the existing gap with said threshold by half.
As for the non-contributory pensionswill also rise above the CPI, so that the amount reaches the equivalent of 75% of the poverty threshold for a single-person household.
On the other hand, the gender gap supplement will rise an additional 5%, explains Arpa, which will be added to that annual revaluation. Let us remember that this supplement is to compensate for the lack of contributions that had to be interrupted due to childcare, which mainly affects women.
A moderate rise, but necessary
Although the 2.6% increase is lower than in previous years (when inflation triggered pensions by 8.5% in 2023 and 3.8% in 2024), experts do agree that it is a necessary measure to maintain the purchasing power of pensioners and retirees.
“Every euro counts for those who depend exclusively on a pension. The increase may seem small, but it prevents them from losing purchasing power in the face of inflation,” Arpa concludes in her video.