Read the article to find out how much will average pensions will rise for UK expats and Spanish nationals in 2024
The Spanish National Institute of Statistics (INE) recently released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures for November 2023. This was a month in which inflation has decreased, based on the data, it is now known that contributory pensions will increase by 3.76% beginning in January 2024.
The most recent pension reform stipulates that retirement benefits are revalued in accordance with inflation. As a result, once the November data was available, pension updates would be made on January 1st of each year using the average interannual CPI.
In Andalucía, of the 1,645,586 active pensions that exist today, a total of 968,616 are for retirement. In the province of Malaga there are a total of 284,225 pensioners , of which 173,180 are retirees , the largest group of those who receive one of these benefits.
According to the latest data published by the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, corresponding to the month of November, the average pension in Malaga amounts to 1,255.42 euros.
Based on the advance CPI data for November (which is 3.2% year-on-year), the average data for the year stands at 3.76%. This means that in Malaga, the retirement pension will increase on average by 47 euros per month, which translates into about 564 euros per year – spread over twelve payments, not including extras.
If all types of pensions are taken into account – retirement, widowhood, orphan-hood, permanent disability and favour of relatives – the calculation is different. In this case, the average pension figure is 1,062.35 euros, so the increase would be about 40 euros.
A Spanish state pension accrues funds based on social security contributions. The current qualifying age is 65. This will rise incrementally to 67 by 2027. Currently, expats will need at least 15 years of contributions to be eligible.
For UK expats
The UK state pension goes up annually in April in line with the highest of either wage growth, inflation or 2.5%, as measured in the September. Known as the triple lock commitment, it means pensioners will receive a 8.5% uplift in their state pension from April 2024.
The full rate for the New State Pension for the 2023/24 tax year is £203.85 (up from £185.15 in 2022/23 – an increase of 10.1%). If you and your partner have built up the full 35 qualifying years, you’ll get double this amount as a married couple. This comes to £407.70 between you.
