“From today, retired Ceutians will begin to collect their pensions with an average salary increase of 116.96 euros.” This has been affirmed by Rafael García, the government delegate who recalled that the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration is currently sending a personal letter to each pensioner in which this revaluation is announced.
Since January 1, 2023, pensions have increased by 8.5%, which equals the average price growth in the year 2022. “The Government of Spain thus fulfills its promise and thus guarantees the purchasing power of pensions.”
During the past year Spain has experienced an increase in inflation linked to the war in Ukraine. But in any case the protection of the purchasing power of Spanish pensioners is guaranteed by Law 21/2021 so that every January 1 pensions will rise exactly as the average CPI has increased during the previous year.
“The pension system is one of the main assets of our Welfare State, which is why the Government will continue to work to reform and modernize it, concretizing the recommendations of the Toledo Pact that Congress approved almost two years ago,” said Rafael García.
This reform, which is already at a very advanced stage, will include important measures to make our pension system more robust and equitable.
The government is receiving proposals, within the social dialogue, and is negotiating with the social agents. The initial proposal, which has to be negotiated with employers and unions, includes progressively extending the period of computation.
The maintenance of purchasing power, an unbreakable right for pensioners.
With this increase, the increase in the average retirement pension in Spain is 107 euros per month or 1,500 euros per year and will be 1,367 euros per month.
In Ceuta, the average pension is slightly higher than the national one and reaches 1,492.95 euros per month, which means an increase of 116.96 euros each month.
This revaluation has been implemented 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.
In total, 11.8 million pensioners and recipients of other benefits in our country will be guaranteed their purchasing power in a context of high inflation unknown for thirty years.
Despite the pressures to refrain from revaluing pensions in line with inflation or to revalue some below price growth, this Government understands that revaluation and the guarantee of purchasing power is an intrinsic part of the right to a public pension. “This is an unwavering commitment and an expression of the solidarity of society with those who have contributed that a protection commensurate with their efforts emerge after so many years of work.”
“If the previous system had been applied, with a revaluation rate of 0.25%, the average pension in Ceuta would reach 1,217.42 euros compared to the current 1,492.95 euros. A very substantial difference,” said the Government Delegate.
From 2018 to today, the average pension in Ceuta has risen 290.63 euros. With the revaluation of 2013, that of the previous government, pensioners would have seen their average pension increase by only 15.10 euros.
The maintenance of the purchasing power of pensions is compatible with the strengthening of the accounts of the Public Pension System, because the measures of protection and improvement of the quality of employment promoted, among other rules by the labor reform, are improving the income of the system and moving towards budgetary balance.
Not having a certain formula for revaluation left the evolution of pensions in the hands of the discretion of the government in office. With the measure approved, a decisive step has been taken so that the purchasing power of pensioners is permanently guaranteed. The formula established by this Government gives certainty to current pensioners and generates confidence in future pensioners, to whom it is transmitted that the pension system is financially and socially sustainable.
With the previous formula of 2013, the increase was always of a meagre 0.25%, which in this context would have meant a strong loss of purchasing power for pensioners.
Social cohesion and the principle of solidarity between generations is strengthened
The current reform is positive for everyone: 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.
In fact, the Social Security deficit, which in 2018 was 1.6% of GDP, will end this year predictably at around 0.5%.
The revaluation formula compensates for the price increase experienced over the last year. Therefore, although inflation in December has been at 5.8%, the revaluation is 8.5%, which is the average observed throughout 2022.
The revaluation of pensions is not an economic measure, it is a right included in article 50 of the Spanish Constitution, and in the doctrines of the Constitutional Court, the Court of Justice of the European Union, and the Court of Human Rights.