The average amount received by recipients of contributory pensions in Spain increased 5% in the month of March compared to the same month of the previous year and State spending for this concept amounted to US$13,755, a new record.
According to figures published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Social Security, The average Social Security payment amounted to US$1,355 per month in March, including retirement pensions, permanent disability, widowhood, orphanhood and in favor of family members.
Compared to March 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic, the average pension has increased 27%, largely due to the revaluation in line with the consumer price index (CPI) applied in the last 3 years.
The annual increase in payments is decided by a mechanism introduced in the 2021 legislative reform, which establishes that pensions will be revalued to the same extent as the average annual inflation recorded the previous year with the exception of years of negative CPI, in which they remain unchanged.
The item allocated to contributory pensions, benefits of indefinite duration that are granted to workers who have contributed to Social Security, It was equivalent to 11.5% of the monthly GDP and is the largest of the Spanish State budgets.
In 2023, contributory pensions in Spain amounted to almost 170,000 million euros (US$184,227 million), compared to the 583,543 million euros (US$632,380 million) of total non-financial expenditure in the year.
