Social Security—carrying an annual deficit that independent analyses from FEDEA place near €70 billion—paid out 10,446,888 contributory pensions to approximately 9.5 million people this February, according to a report released Wednesday by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security, and Migration. Additionally, it paid out another 700,000 non-contributory pensions.
Of the contributory pensions, 6.7 million are retirement pensions; 2.3 million are widowhood pensions; over one million are for permanent disability; more than 335,000 are orphanage benefits; and 46,600 are for other family members.
The average pension is €1,366, while the average retirement pension (covering 6.7 million people) stands at €1,566, a 4.4% increase compared to last year. This rise is driven by the fact that new pensions are averaging nearly €1,900 per retiree. To put this in perspective with wage levels, the most common salary in Spain in 2023 was €15,574 gross per year.
