The payment of retirement pensions in June will bring as a novelty the collection of benefits of about 6,000 euros if the ordinary monthly payment and the extraordinary summer payment are added.
Unpublished figures that are possible after the revaluation of pensions at the beginning of the year, of 8.5% in general terms, which pushed the maximum benefit to 3,058.51 euros per month. Whoever receives this maximum, or whoever is somewhat below, in the payment they will receive in the coming days will be around the mentioned 6,000 euros or more, as the extra is normally the equivalent of a monthly payment. The situation will be repeated at the end of the year with the extra in November.
In annual terms, counting the two extras, what is received by the pensioner can rise in 2023 to 42,823.34 euros.
The first footnote that must be made is that these are gross amounts subject to personal income tax. Based on various scenarios with the Tax Agency withholding calculator, for a case in which the maximum is charged, the applicable withholding rate would reach 21%. In this way, of the 6,000 round euros, about 1,200 euros would go to pay taxes. “Talking about 6,000 euros may seem scandalous, but a high general rate is applied and the figure is reduced,” says José Antonio Herce, managing partner of the firm Longevity
According to figures from the Social Security in May, the last pension payroll paid, there were 423,829 retirement benefits of 3,000 euros or more if all schemes are taken into account. There are only about 5,200 self-employed in these strips. Both are a minor part of the 6.3 million pensions that are paid.
“These pensions are not given away. Nobody gives anything away in Social Security and even less to those who have contributed at high levels,” says Herce. Those who receive these maximum pensions are usually former employees who have contributed to the maximum base (currently 4,495.50 euros), so their salaries could be above 5,000 euros gross while active. Professionals, middle managers, and senior managers would fit the profile.
To reach these pensions, they have also had long working careers, since to access 100% of the listed regulatory base and the maximum pension they must have contributed for 36 years and 6 months, according to the scheme applicable today. “It is not a lottery prize. The maxims require a significant contribution effort and they pay more taxes than anyone else,” Herce details.
Social Security sources also highlight that these high benefits have contributed throughout their working lives.
A differential point is that in these high income and pension brackets, life expectancy is significantly higher, “which means that people with more pensions can enjoy them longer,” says the expert. As in other cases, they end up charging more than what was contributed, which adds pressure to public finances and means that the system is financed by frequent transfers from the State.
