Social Security will apply from 2026 more rigorous control on non-contributory retirement and disability pensions, activating a mechanism already provided for in the regulations. The key is simple: those who do not submit the annual income statement during the first quarter of the year will stop receive your pension until they regularize the situation.
In this way, the Administration ensures that all recipients of these aid really continue to meet the economic requirements to receive them.
Differences between contributory and non-contributory pension. First of all, it is worth making an important qualification in this new measure. As and how do they clarify from La Moncloa, contributory pensions are granted to those who they have quoted enough throughout their entire working life. The legal age, the years of contributions and the contribution bases determine the final amount of that pension. Once that pension is recognized, the annual personal income they do not modify the law.
Instead, the non-contributory pensions They work differently since the beneficiary has not provided prior contributions. They are precisely designed for people who have not had a sufficient working career to access a contributory benefit, or have not contributed directly. In this case, the decisive element is not the working life, but the lack of resources to survive. The system only guarantees this aid as long as the beneficiary can demonstrate that they continue to meet the financial requirements.
Social Security improves the verification system. In 2026, no requirement is added that was not already contemplated in the existing regulations, but Social Security has reinforced the mechanism that is responsible for verifying the requirements of beneficiaries. If they cannot be verified due to lack of data, the benefit is no longer paid.
He article 368 of the Social Security Law establishes that “the beneficiary must present, in the first quarter of each year, a declaration of the income of the respective economic unit of which he is a part, referring to the immediately preceding year.” That is, the beneficiary of the benefit has the obligation to demonstrate annually that his or her family income meets the requirements to receive it.
This certificate must be sent to the Administration through a form available in the IMSERSO portalthe body that coordinates this type of benefits with the different autonomous communities.
The regulations leave no room. The existence of the pension depends on the beneficiary periodically demonstrating that he or she is still in a situation of financial need. This is the reason why the system requires that the declaration be delivered during the first quarter of the year. That is, between January 1 and March 31.
The failure to comply this procedure It has also been regulated for more than three decades and is included in the article 16.2 of Royal Decree 357/1991. “Failure by the beneficiary to comply with the obligation to submit the annual income declaration will result in the suspension of receipt of the pension.” In other words, if this income is not reported, Social Security will stop paying the benefit.
Suspension does not eliminate the right. However, the suspension included in the regulations does not imply the loss of the right to receive it. It means that payments are stopped until the person presents documentation and proves that they meet the requirements.
From that moment on, the Administration checks the declared income and, if the requirements are maintained, reactivates the payment of the pension. Reactivation may include payment of arrears, but with a limit: they can only be recovered up to three months prior to the date on which it is regularized.
Starting in 2026, Social Security will apply without exception the suspension of payment when the income declaration is not submitted within the established period. It is an operational change, not a legal one. The regulations already existed, what changes is the level of control and monitoring. Hence, the annual declaration is not a formality, but rather a condition for receiving the non-contributory pension.
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Image | Social Security, Unsplash (Jordy Muñoz)
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