The CPI shoots up pension spending in May to close to 12,000 million

2023-05-26 16:05:18

The revaluation of pensions according to the CPI represented an increase this year of 8.5%, which is increasing Social Security spending month after month. In the month of May, spending on pensions once again reached a record figure, close to 12,000 million euros. Specifically, spending on this item was 11,974.3 million euros, 10.7% more than in May of a year ago, the Ministry of Social Security reported this Friday.

Of the total expenditure, three quarters (73%) was allocated to pay retirement pensions, to over 8,700 million euros (11.5% more than a year ago), while almost 2,000 million were allocated to widow’s pensions. (9.4% more), to disability benefits about 1,050 million euros (7.4% more), to orphans 163 million (8.7% more) and benefits for family members amounted to 31.4 million ( 11.4% more).

In total, it represents spending on pensions equivalent to 11.7% of national GDP, the same percentage as in 2022, according to data from the ministry led by José Luis Escrivá. There are 9 million people who receive a pension, 4.6 million are men and 4.5 are women.

The average retirement pension has increased by 9.6% in May compared to a year ago due to the rise according to the CPI, up to 1,375 euros per month for beneficiaries. This amount rises to 1,533 euros per month on average for those retirees who come from the salaried regime, while that of the self-employed regime was 915 euros on average per month in May.

850 euros of widowhood

The lowest is the widow’s pension, whose average amount was only 852 euros per month despite the revaluation according to the CPI. In general, the system’s average pension, which includes the different classes (retirement, disability, widowhood and orphanhood) increased by 9.6% in May compared to last year to 1,195 euros per month. Regarding the new retirement registrations, the latest data referring to the month of April indicate that the average amount was 1,357 euros.

In the system as a whole, 10.02 million contributory pensions were paid in May, 1% more than a year ago. And of the total pensions, 6.34 million were for retirement and 2.34 million were for widowhood.

And with regard to the gender gap supplement, close to 496,000 received this aid at the end of April, of which 91.7% are women. The average monthly amount of this pension supplement is 65.9 euros. Of the supplemented pensions, 22.6% correspond to pensioners with a child, who previously did not have access to the maternity supplement. 47% have two children, 19.5% have three and 10.7% have four children.

This supplement, in force since February 2021, is a fixed amount of 30.40 euros per month per child, which is applied from the first, unlike the previous maternity supplement.