We already knew the general increase in pensions for 2024 which, according to inflation between December 2022 and November of this year, will be 3.8%, but the increase in the minimum and widow's pensions remained to be known. The Minister of Inclusion and Social Security, Elma Saiz, announced this today, setting the increase in minimum wages at a percentage of between 5 and 7%, and at 14.1% for widows with dependent children.
The largest increase, of 14.1%, will go to the minimum pension for widows with family responsibilities. In that case, the minimum will go from 12,682 euros per year in 14 payments, 906 euros per month, in force for 2023 to 14,457 euros per year, about 1,033 euros per month.
Non-contributory pensions will increase by 6.9%, the same review that the minimum vital income (IMV) will have, the minister has specified in X (Twitter).
The details of the increases in the different minimum contributory pensions will be known starting this Thursday, when the ministry has the final CPI for November. To specify the widow's pensions, a few more days until the poverty threshold data is known, which is used to calculate the increase in this type of pension.
The minister recalls that all these revaluations guarantee the purchasing power of pensioners "of today and the future" and give them certainty and security. "She gives a message of tranquility, of guarantee," she highlighted in a statement to the Efe agency.
These increases are determined by the decree law of March of this year, which represented the second part of the pension reform and which, in addition to establishing the new pension sustainability framework, expands the rights of pensioners and reduces the gap of genre. Specifically, it foresees an increase in both the minimum contribution and widowhood benefits, but with a much higher rate of increase for the latter.
Regarding the minimum contribution with a dependent spouse, it establishes that starting in 2024 it will be progressively increased until in 2027 it is equivalent to the poverty threshold calculated for a household of two adults. And regarding widows with family responsibilities, it plans to equip them from next year to “the amount of the aforementioned retirement pension.” The rest of the minimum pensions will gradually increase the same as the previous ones, but by 50%.
For her part, the second vice president and Minister of Labor, Yolanda Díaz, has stated that "this increase in pensions will alleviate day-to-day difficulties, guaranteeing more stability and security."
The average inflation for the period December 2022-November 2023 stood, in the absence of confirmation of the advanced data, at 3.8%, so any increase that exceeds that percentage will follow the path marked by the reform.
