The current pension system, a result of Pedro Sánchez's government's last major reform, gets a barely passing grade in a new examination by the Independent Fiscal Responsibility Authority (Airef). The body, now headed by Inés Olóndriz, confirmed this Friday morning that the system complies with the pension spending rule, and therefore, the Spanish government will not be forced to approve additional measures to adjust spending and income. However, the Fiscal Authority is once again casting doubt on the system's sustainability and, in fact, questions it.

The expenditure of the entire pension system will increase exponentially in the coming years due to the progressive exit from the labor market of the so-called "baby boom" generation, the largest one. It will do so, in fact, from the current 202.607 billion euros to 616.563 billion euros in 2050, when the peak expenditure is expected to be reached. If observed in relation to gross domestic product (GDP, the indicator that measures the economic activity of a territory), expenditure will go from 12.7% of GDP in 2024 to 15.3% of GDP around the years 2049 and 2050.Taking this trend into account, the question of whether the system is sustainable, especially in the long term, has been hovering for some time. In the eyes of the Ministry of Social Security, the answer is affirmative, and the reasons are, in the opinion of this department, mainly three: the delay in the retirement age, that is, the tendency for people to extend their working lives; the fact that more women are working; and, finally, the evolution of the Spanish economy.All in all, both the expenditure projections and the arguments for why it is sustainable are included in the report that Social Security published this Thursday after launching

Pensions are one of the most significant achievements of the welfare state that must be preserved. The reduction in birth rates and the aging of the population with the increase in life expectancy – that is, the time during which one is entitled to a benefit – have increased the number of beneficiaries in recent years at a faster rate than contributors. The essential principle of the pay-as-you-go system is intergenerational solidarity: that is, working individuals finance the pensions of those who have retired.

News on active retirement. The Spanish government has approved a royal decree this Tuesday, which will come into effect in three months, establishing a new modality for self-employed workers and employees, both part-time and full-time, to combine their work and collect their pension simultaneously. The objective, as explained by the Minister of Security and Migrations, Elma Saiz, is to facilitate retired individuals to return to work without losing their pension, with the idea of contributing to an "active aging".

The lack of talent and qualified personnel to fill job vacancies is not only a problem for companies, but also affects economic growth. The employers' association of the Vallès region, Cecot, has issued this warning and raised the issue in a report entitled Towards a sustainable labor market 38 proposals to address the problem, which has various facets, ranging from demographics to changes in the labor market. Among the proposals are aligning school hours with work schedules, promoting active and reversible retirement, and further encouraging teleworking, among others aimed at attracting more talent to companies.

Spain was the second country in the world (after the USSR) to legislate an eight-hour workday. This was in 1919, as a result of the La Canadiense strike. This objective had been a constant of the labor movement throughout the 19th century, since the Industrial Revolution typically saw much longer working days. Since then, the working day has been reduced by eliminating one day of the week (from 48 hours a week to 40) and introducing paid vacations (typically four weeks a year). However, workers' standard of living has risen prodigiously, taxes have risen even more rapidly—which has allowed for the financing of a generous welfare state—social contributions have allowed pensioners to survive their increasingly long retirements, all while investors have not stopped collecting their often equally generous profits.

The Ministry of Social Rights has begun processing a new tender for the Imserso travel program, and this year it includes two important new features: a flat rate of €50 for pensioners with lower benefits, and the possibility of traveling with pets for the first time, as reported by the ministry in a press release. Since this initiative was launched 40 years ago, more than 4.6 million people have participated.

One cold, one hot. That's the conclusion drawn from the first major examination of the pension reform that the Spanish government launched in 2020. This Monday, the Fiscal Authority (AIREF) published the results of the acid test—the agency is mandated to evaluate the measures every three years—and, while Cristina Herrero confirmed compliance with the "spending rule" of the AIREF system, in a press conference. However, the Spanish government sees AIREF's conclusions as an endorsement of all the approved changes. In fact, the Ministry of Social Security speaks of the reform's "success." Why do they have such different opinions?

A demonstration against pension cuts in Argentina erupted this Wednesday in the largest bout of police repression yet witnessed by the government of Javier Milei. What began as a protest against the Argentine president's austerity measures in Buenos Aires escalated into a pitched battle between protesters and police, resulting in 124 arrests and 46 injuries. One of them, photographer Pablo Grillo, is in critical condition after suffering a skull fracture from the impact of a tear gas canister.

Extending the retirement age is one of the main prescriptions for the pension system to remain sustainable. But without going into this aspect, the Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya (Idescat) has made its projections on the evolution of the active population. Catalonia will have an active population of 4.3 million in 2031, 371,000 people more than in 2021. In addition, it highlights the increase in active population over 65 years of age, which will increase from 47,500 people in 2021 to 118,800 in 2031; that is, in a decade it will more than double.

The pension system has long been in question. The structural unemployment of the Spanish economy, much higher than the European average (and aggravated by the last two crises, together with the progressive precariousness of the labour market in recent decades, which has harmed not only workers but also Social Security contributions), has led the pension system to a situation that is unsustainable over time. To this we must add two more factors. One, which is obvious, is the lengthening of life expectancy: many people live 30 or more years after retirement. The other factor is that the baby boom generation, which in Catalonia and Spain is the generation born between the late 50s and early 70s, is now approaching retirement age on a massive scale, which has made it imperative to act before there is a collapse. It is no longer enough to keep chasing the ball forward. The problem is already upon us, it is time to face the situation. And Europe has become serious. For all these reasons, the reform that the Spanish government has now introduced cannot surprise anyone. We were warned.

The Minister of Social Security, José Luis Escrivá, announced yesterday that the Spanish government is studying incentives for workers who decide to continue working beyond retirement age. Among the proposals are an annual payment of up to €12,000 or increasing pension payments by 4% for workers who decide to remain active despite having the right, due to age and years worked, to retire.