The National Statistics Institute (INE), published this Monday the evolution of the Average Index of Nominal Salaries (IMSN) that ended 2021 in 6.16%. That will be the definitive increase that retirees and pensioners will have this year, as defined by law.
With the IMSN for the period between January and November, the provisional pension adjustment had been established, which is in force as of January 2021 (5.87%), and which will be received in the payments made in February.
Now, with the result of the IMSN for the whole year, that floor of 5.87% will have a minimal adjustment and the difference in the payment corresponding to February will be repaid.
In this way, in March, the full increase (6.16%) will be charged, which arises from the 5.87% that will be charged in February plus a pending 0.29% from the December IMSN that remained to be known. In the case of those people who, for example, have retired in the last 12 months, the increase will be proportionally less, depending on the date of registration of the passivity.
With these numbers, pensions lose purchasing power again for the third consecutive year. Until 2019 and for 14 consecutive years, liabilities had increased above the evolution of prices. In 2021, inflation stood at 7.96%, so the correction of 6.16% is 1.8 percentage points below the evolution recorded by prices.
The pace of increases in private wages suffered a notable slowdown in the last two years due to the impact that the pandemic caused on the labor market. The Executive Power committed itself in the five-year Budget to recover the lost purchasing power of private workers at the end of its government term. In the last salary round —which was closed at the end of the year— the guideline set a real salary recovery percentage of 1.1% for 2022.
