Spain now has less than 2 Social Security contributors for every claimant

 

The number of people in Spain receiving some kind of state pension exceeded 9 million at the start of 2013 for the first time ever, mainly due of Spain's ageing population.

This puts a further burden on the welfare system at a time when the government is striving to put the country's financial situation on an even keel.

According to figures as of January 1, released Tuesday by the Labor Ministry, the number of people receiving a state pension climbed 1.5% through 2012 to reach 9,008,348.

The biggest increase, of 7.3%, was for those entitled to an orphan's pension.

The biggest financial impact came in the form of a 2.0% increase in the number of people receiving a retirement pension, to 5,402,863.

The Social Security system posted its biggest deficit on record last year of €11.8 billion, around 1.0% of GDP, as a result of the increase in benefit payments and a drop in the number of contributors.

Unemployment hit 26% at the end of last year, while the number of people contributing to the system declined by 4.6% to 16.3 million.

As a result, for the first time ever, there are fewer than 2 Social Security contributors for every person receiving a pension.