Pensions rise 1,500 euros a year on average and will be reformed "in weeks"

Yesterday the Council of Ministers complied with what was planned and approved the royal decree that will revalue pensions according to the CPI from January 1, which will imply an increase of 8.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
27 December 2022 Tuesday 23:33
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Pensions rise 1,500 euros a year on average and will be reformed "in weeks"

Yesterday the Council of Ministers complied with what was planned and approved the royal decree that will revalue pensions according to the CPI from January 1, which will imply an increase of 8.5%. The measure affects 11.8 million pensions and will mean, in the case of retirement pensions, an average increase of 107 euros per month or 1,500 euros per year. The average retirement pension will now be located at 1,367 euros per month.

The announcement was discounted, but it was accompanied by a small novelty: the 15% increase in non-contributory pensions and in the minimum vital income that was approved in July until December 31. The increase will not be withdrawn, but will be consolidated.

All these improvements are preceded by a breach by the Government in its commitment to the European Commission to reform pensions again before the end of the year. The President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, said yesterday that "there is no problem" and that the delay will not mean a "break" on the arrival of European funds.

The Government's argument is that there is already a similar "precedent" related to the new contribution system for the self-employed, which was approved "a few weeks" later and that did not receive a complaint from Brussels. Spain is entering the European funds as it accredits the fulfillment of the milestones proposed to the European Commission.

Sánchez assured that, in this aspect, the country can feel "tranquility". He also said that the increases in pensions are applied respecting the Toledo Pact, which guarantees the sustainability of the public system. Next year, he affirmed, 3,000 million euros will be allocated to the Reserve Fund.

One in four Spaniards, according to what the Government indicated yesterday, now has "guaranteed its purchasing power." His calculations also indicate that an average widow's pension will rise on January 1 by 66 euros per month, up to 930 euros per year.

The cost of raising pensions by 8.5% as of January 1 will be 13,600 million euros and the figure increases to 14,500 million if the consolidation of the 15% increase for non-contributory pensions and income is also included. vital minimum.

This last measure reaches close to a million people and will force the Government to resort to a credit supplement amounting to 283 million euros.

Yesterday Social Security offered the latest data on spending on contributory pensions. In November it stood at 10,943 million euros, which marks a new all-time high and implies a year-on-year increase of 4.5%. The number of contributory pensions amounts to 9.9 million, of which 6.3 million are for retirement and 2.3 million for widowhood.