- With the formula of the previous Government to raise them by 0.25% right now they would be charging 255.27 euros less per month
- “The pension is now 23% higher than if that formula had been applied”, said the delegate
- 1,163,448 retirees will benefit from the revaluation in the Autonomous Community
- Pensions for permanent disability rise to 1,231.45 euros on average and those for widowhood to 862.40 euros
Barcelona, January 25, 2023.- Pensions in Catalonia have risen by an average of 109.41 euros since this year, which means that they will be 1,396.81 euros on average in an autonomous community with 1,163,448 pensioners.
This rise responds to the revaluation of pensions with the consumer price index (CPI), which equals the average price growth in 2022 and seeks to ensure the maintenance of the purchasing power of pensioners. A measure that is possible thanks to the Law approved in 2021, which turns the maintenance of purchasing power into a right and does not leave it to the albur of the person who governs, but transforms it into a permanent right.
TERRITORIALIZED FIGURES
By province, the data show that the average revaluation of pensions in Barcelona amounts to 112.65 euros to 1,438.01 euros; in Girona, pensions increase 98.25 euros and are on average 1,254.74 euros per month.
With regard to the province of Lleida, the pensions have been revalued at 94.97 euros, standing at 1,213.58, while in the province of Tarragona they rise 103.35 euros and pensioners will receive 1,319.41 euros on average.
Along the same lines, the 159,112 pensioners who charge for a permanent disability in Catalonia, will receive from this month of January 1,231.45 euros on average and the 391,416 who receive a widow’s pension will receive 862.40 euros.
As for orphan’s pensions, they are 471.67 on average for 50,492 beneficiaries in Catalonia, while pensions in favour of relatives amount to 769.35 euros on average, for 1,329 beneficiaries.
Thus, the average monthly pension for the total number of Catalan pensioners - amounting to 1,765,797 - stands at 1,236.52 euros on average, above the state average and with an annual variation rate of 9.91%.
The revaluation has been launched with maximum social and political legitimacy, following the recommendations of the Toledo Pact of the Congress of Deputies and the great agreement with the social partners of 2021, which was signed in the Palacio de la Moncloa.
The formula established by this Government gives certainty to pensioners, who do not have the capacity to react to a change of context, and generates confidence in future pensioners, to whom it is transmitted that the pension system is financially and socially sustainable.
This measure gains relevance in the current context of global uncertainty, with a war at the gates of Europe whose derivative in the domestic economy is an increase in inflation that, although contained by the measures of the Executive, affects groups such as that of pensioners whose capacity to react is reduced.
OLD RISE 0.25%
It should be remembered that with the formula that was applied before the arrival of the current Government the rise would have remained at the state level at 0.25% compared to the 8.5% that they rise with the proposal of the Government of Pedro Sánchez.
At times like these, with high inflation and great international uncertainty, it is when it makes the most sense for pensioners to be guaranteed their purchasing power. A power that, with the previous formula of 0.25%, would have been seriously diminished.
“The updating of pensions with prices carried out by this Government means that an average pension is now 23% higher than if the revaluation formula has continued to be applied” of the previous Government, said the delegate of the Government, Maria Eugènia Gay.
Thus, we are talking about the fact that with the current government’s commitment to revalue pensions to the CPI taking into account inflation during the current year, pensions have reached an average of 1,396.81, while if the previous formula had been maintained, right now pensioners would be charging 1,141.54, which would mean 255.27 euros less per month.
The difference is made more evident by taking into account the progression of pensions in recent years. Since the Executive of Pedro Sánchez assumed the responsibility of governing Spain in 2018, pensions have been gradually revalued: in that year they stood at 1,127.38 euros on average; in 2019 they rose to 1163.87; in 2020 they amounted to 1,192.44; in 2021, it was 1,219.81 and in 2022, 1,287.23.
If the 0.25% increase had continued, the beneficiaries of a retirement pension would have earned 1,130.20 in 2019; 1,133.02 in 2020; 1,135.86 in 2021; 1,138.70 in 2022 and 1,141.54 euros per month during the course we have just started.
Unlike the 2013 pension reform, which lost purchasing power to the elderly and cut future pensions for young people, the current reform benefits both: current pensioners maintain their purchasing power, and future pensioners have confidence that their pensions will be backed by a strong system that guarantees them an income protected from price rises. This strengthens social cohesion and the principle of solidarity between generations.
For more information: 2023_01_25pensiones.pdf
