Social Security has taken a step forward in making diagnostic assessments of the pension system as complete as possible and without the need to rely on external reports. The ministry piloted by Elma Saiz has just launched a new tool that will allow it to make almost real-time projections of both the system's expenses and income. The objective is to observe whether it is sustainable or not, especially in the long term. But, is the discussion about what is one of the thunderboxes of economic policy over? In parallel to Social Security, Brussels carries out the same exercise, but in its own way.

Contributory pensions will be revalued by 2.7% from January 1, 2026. The increase is the result of calculating the average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of the last 12 months (between December 2024 and November of this year), so that when the inflation for this month of November is confirmed...3% year-on-yearThe increase in benefits will be fully confirmed. This will happen on December 12th.

The length of a person's working life has a direct impact on the retirement benefits they receive once they stop working and, consequently, on whether they are forced to postpone or delay leaving the workforce for even longer. In fact, to be eligible for retirement, it is necessary to contribute a minimum number of years, in addition to being of legal pensionable age. However, there are a number of factors that make this path difficult, especially among today's young people. One of these is entering the labor market later, as confirmed by a study by the Valencian Institute of Economic Research (Ivie) and the BBVA Foundation.

The Governor of the Bank of Spain, José Luis Escrivá, said this Wednesday that he is confident that the process for recruiting positions for the bank's new innovation center in Barcelona will be resolved "in the coming months." According to the agency, there are 25 positions for technology professionals, for which 900 people have already applied. However, the bank does not rule out the possibility of expanding the number of positions. The Bank of Spain has already signed an agreement with the Barcelona SuperComputing Center. to collaborate in promoting the implementation of artificial intelligence in the financial sector.

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?

As of January 1, 2022, pensioners will see their contributory pensions go up by 2.5% as a result of the increasing CPI. This raise is the result of the new revaluation formula included in the pension reform bill, which takes into account average year-on-year inflation of the previous 12 months, that is, from December of last year to November of this year. This was agreed by the Spanish government, trade unions and employers in the summer, leaving behind the 0.25% maximum the PP's reform approved. In addition, the agreement states that, in case of negative inflation, pensioners will not see their income reduced, but it will remain the same.

After months of negotiation, finally this Monday the Spanish government has reached an agreement to move forward with the mechanism that has to guarantee baby boomers' pensions. However, Sánchez's government only signed the pact with the unions, since employers walked out of the negotiations. But what was the final agreement? These are the five keys:

The Spanish government has announced this Monday an agreement with trade unions to increase Social Security contributions by 0.6% for 10 years as an exceptional measure to be able to pay the pensions of the so called baby boomers (those born between the late 50s and late 70s). Business associations CEOE and Cepyme have decided to dissociate themselves from the agreement and walked away from the table without presenting an alternative. In a statement they have simply stated that the measure "is insufficient, does not guarantee the balance of the system and additional measures will be needed in the future to ensure its sustainability".

The meeting on the design of the mechanism for intergenerational equality in pensions on Monday ended without consensus. While employer associations CEOE and Cepyme have distanced themselves from the Ministry for Social Security's proposal to increase taxes, the main unions are favourable, as negotiating sources explained to ARA, who add that informal contacts will be maintained to try to convince employers, also warning that the bill may yet be changed.

The Social Security Minister, José Luis Escrivá, has taken 24 hours to admit that he was wrong in the statements he made on Thursday about the pensions of the baby boomer generation. While yesterday he assured that this generation born between the 50s and mid-70s would have to choose between collecting a lower pension or working more years, this Friday he has hastened to correct his own words. "Yesterday I did not have my best day", he admitted during the press conference to assess the unemployment data for June. "[My words] were misunderstood, I was thinking out loud", he added.

The coalition government between the PSOE and Unidas Podemos has scored another success on Monday by closing a first agreement on pension reform with employers and unions. In this case its architect has been the Minister for Inclusion and Social Security, José Luis Escrivá, who after months of negotiations has unblocked one of the issues that raises more dilemmas and more doubts about the Spanish economy. It is true that many thorny aspects, such as the new system for calculating pensions, have been left for a second phase of the negotiations, but from the outset, basic aspects have been agreed that indicate where the future pension system has to go in order to be fairer and more sustainable.