Los ingresos por cotizaciones a la Seguridad Social crecen un 9,1% interanual, el mayor aumento en 16 años en un primer trimestre

Income from social security contributions continues to increase due to the improvement in employment as a result of the labor reform; in particular, until March there has been an increase of 9.1% year-on-year. In this way, they stand at 37.370 billion euros (3.124 billion more than a year earlier).

If you take as a reference the data of the last year that was not affected by the pandemic, 2019, the increase in contributions is 22.3% (6,083 million euros more). In this way, income from social contributions continues to mark historical highs in absolute terms and also record the largest increase in the last 16 years, in the cumulative of the first three months of the year.

Overall, the Social Security accounts show a negative balance as of March 31, 2023, of 196 million euros, equivalent to 0.01%. This figure is obtained from the difference between rights recognized by non-financial transactions of 43,725 million euros, which show an increase of 8.8%, and recognized obligations of 43,921 million, which grow by 9.4% year-on-year.

In terms of cash, the system’s liquid collection reaches 42,828 million euros, with an increase of 8.9% compared to the previous year, while payments show an increase of 9%, reaching 43,651 million euros.

Non-financial income

In these three months, social contributions amounted to 37,370 million euros, which represents an increase of 9.1% compared to the income of the same period of the 2022 financial year (3,124 million euros more).

This increase is driven by the evolution of income from contributions of employed people, who experience a year-on-year increase of 9.1% to reach 35.028 million euros (2.913 million euros more).

In addition, the contributions of unemployed are estimated at 2,342 million euros, which represents an increase of 9.9% (211 million euros more)

The transfers received by the Social Security amount to 6,002 million euros, with an increase of 6.7% year-on-year. The most significant item corresponding to the transfers received from the State and Autonomous Agencies amounting to a total of 4,954 million (6.9% more).

Non-financial expenses

On the expenditure side, financial benefits to families and institutions reached 41,447 million, 9.3% more than in the same period of 2022. This figure represents 94.4% of the total expenditure made in the Social Security system.

The largest item, 38,013 million, relates to pensions and contributory benefits, with an increase of 9.3%.

In a detailed analysis of the contributory area, pension expenditure (permanent disability, retirement, widowhood, orphanhood, in favor of family members and contributory pension supplements for the reduction of the gender gap.) 9.9% increase to 33.747 billion euros, due to the increase in the number of pensioners (1%), the increase in the average pension (9.7%), as well as the general revaluation of 8.5% for contributory pensions in the year 2023, in compliance with the law that guarantees the purchasing power of pensions.

With regard to temporary disability benefits, total expenditure increased by 10.6% compared to the same period last year, to reach 3.101 billion euros, while benefits for birth and child care, co-responsibility in infant care, risk during pregnancy and during natural breastfeeding and care for children affected by cancer or another disease amounted to 993 million (5.3% more).

Non-contributory pensions and benefits, including minimum contributory pension supplements, reach 3,435 million euros, 10% more than in the same period last year, mainly due to the maintenance of the extraordinary increase of 15% in retirement and disability pensions in their non-contributory form that has been applied since July 2022.