Thousands of people in Spain, which includes the Canary Islands, get worried at this time of year, as it is when the Government releases pension figures, but this year they are worried more than ever as increasing inflation rates means that money isn’t going as far. All of Spain’s pensioners are eager to know how much will pensions go up by next year and when will the increase be put into effect?
The pension reform, which came into force on January 1st this year, linked pension revaluation to the average Consumer Price Index between December 2020 and November 2021.
From this, the government forecast is for a pension increase of around 8%, but the revaluation will take place from 1st January 2023 and will be calculated according to the CPI between December 2021 and November 2022.
The Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations, José Luis Escrivá, reassured pensioners this week that the revaluation in January will be based on the average CPI in November, “even if the figure is 8%”.
He said that, in contrast to the increased expenditure, income from contributions has grown by 8.5% this year, and the Social Security deficit at the end of 2022 is expected to be only 0.5% of GDP.
“The difference between income and expenditure shows that the situation is improving. Parliament passed a law to give total certainty to pensioners and they will not lose out,” he said.
“They can be reassured that they will maintain their purchasing power, because it is precisely in situations like these that the protective power of Social Security comes into play, for people who have no flexibility and no way of adjusting their income or employment situation.”
