The BOE confirms that in 2026 workers’ payrolls will be cut by up to 95 euros for a good reason: pensions

As of January 1, 2026, millions of workers in Spain you will see how your payroll It drops a little compared to December 2025. The reason, an increase in one of the withholdings that are applied to the payrolls of all workers aimed at guaranteeing the viability of the benefits of future pensioners. This adjustment, provided for in the Royal Decree-Law 2/2023 It can reach up to 95 euros per year for those with high salaries, although for the majority of workers it will barely exceed 43 euros per year. What is the MEI? Just like explain from BBVA, the MEI, or Intergenerational Equity Mechanism, is a withholding that is applied to working people on their payrolls and that serves to reinforce the Social Security Reserve Fund (popularly known as the “pension piggy bank”). As with other withholdings and contributions, part of the MEI falls on the company and another part on the worker. The objective of this retention is to compensate for the effects of demographic aging of the workforce and ensure that today’s younger generations, with a smaller population than Baby Boomers and Generation the full weight of pensions of the next 25 years. How is it calculated? This withholding is calculated as a percentage of the total salary base for which each person contributes and it is expected that this percentage will increase annually until 2029 and then stabilize. In 2026, this percentage will go from 0.80% of the salary base to 0.9%. Of this amount, the worker will assume 0.15% in 2026, and the company will pay 0.75% (to complete the total 0.90% planned for this year). Year Company Worker Total 2023 0.50% 0.10% 0.60% 2024 0.58% 0.12% 0.70% 2025 0.67% 0.13% 0.80% 2026 0.75% 0.15% 0.90% 2027 0.83% 0.17% 1.00% 2028 0.92% 0.18% 1.10% 2029 to 2050 1.00% 0.20% 1.20% And how much money does that mean? As the final amount depends on the contribution base of each worker, the MEI does not retain a fixed amount for everyone. By 2026, the maximum contribution base will be 63,180 euros per year. Therefore, for those who have a gross salary of 5,265 euros per month (in 12 payments), about 94.77 euros per year will be deducted from that maximum base. That is, about 7.89 euros per month. According to consolidated data from the ‘Salary Structure Survey’ of 2023, the most common gross salary in Spain is around 15,574 euros per year. This means that for workers with a gross monthly salary of 1,297 euros (in 12 payments), the 0.15% that is withheld from each employee as MEI would mean 1.94 euros on each payroll, adding up to a total of 23.34 euros per year. How much will it increase each year? The change in the MEI withholding will be applied automatically and has been increasing since its implementation in 2023, the year in which a withholding of 0.10% for workers and 0.50% for companies began to be applied, with a total of 0.60% on the contribution base. The objective is to reach 1.20% in 2029, divided into 1% retention for the company and 0.20% for workers. Once this objective is reached, withholdings will be frozen at that percentage until 2050. Pay more without receiving more. Unlike other withholdings that are applied to payrolls, the MEI percentage does not generate additional rights on the amount of the retirement pension, as would happen if the contribution base is increasedFor example. That is to say, this withholding does not have a direct effect on the pension, but rather is intended to make the pension system more solvent and viable for a longer time even if there is more retirees than active contributors. According to data of the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security, in 2023 the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism contributed 3,437 million euros to the Social Security Reserve Fund, while in 2024 it was 3,799 million. The record increase in the number of Social Security contributors registered in 2025 means that the forecasts for contributions to the pension fund for this concept will increase to 4,623 million euros, leaving a total balance in this fund close to 14,000 million euros. In Xataka | Working beyond 67 years: Germany has broken its pension system and it is an advance for Europe Image | Unsplash (wjpzlvr), Pexels (Dany Kurniawan)

Thousands of Spaniards live in a city and are registered in another. The BOE reminds them that they risk something: fines

Maybe you know someone who is in that situation. Or maybe you are (or have you been) yourself. One day you move to another city for whatever reason (work, love, family or simply because you feel like discharge In his register. You are still registered in your previous municipality because your parents may live there or you have a house. After all there is nothing wrong with it, right? LAW AND BOE They remind us That is not quite like that. Moreover, remain registered in a different town to that in which you live can lead to a fine of 150 euros. Tell me where you live … And I will tell you in which town hall you must be registered. Throughout the last weeks it is likely that You have seen Some information On the subject, articles In those talk about the obligation that each of us have of being registered in the municipality in which we currently reside (and not another, such as our parents or where we had our last work) and warns the fines it can lead to Failure to comply with that duty. Actually both one thing and another, the obligation of the registration and the sanctions to breach it, have little again. Start from rules dating from 80s and 90. Although it is true that the BOE reminds us with a certain periodicity. For example, he did In October 2024in a decree of the government on procedures in consular offices. Also The INE or the municipalities themselves They emphasize it. And what does legislation say? He Royal Decree 1690/1986It is clear about it. In article 56, remember that all people who change residence within Spain must request the decline in the City Council and discharge as a resident in the new town to which they move. In the case of minors that demand falls on parents or guardians. The Law 4/1996 On local regime bases it is also resounding. “Every person living in Spain is obliged to register in the register of the municipality in which he regularly resides,” he collects in his article 15. And if there were doubts about what to do in the case of people who alternate residence, the regulations of the late 90s Precise: “Whoever lives in several municipalities must register only in which he lives for a longer time.” Clear and precise. After registering in the register of his new town, that person will officially become “neighbor of the municipality” in the eyes of the administration. Notices for clueless. To be aware of the obligation, it is not necessary to dust off the regulations of the late last century. The State itself is dedicated to remembering it. And through different ways. The clearest is the BOE, which cites that duty of citizens in some of their publications. Just four months ago the Ministry of Presidency did for example in the development of A decree on consular records, in which the law of the 80s recalls and that “every person living in Spain” must be recorded in the register of the municipality in which “usually” resides. Town Halls. The BOE is not the only one to update our obligations. The INE dedicates A broad article to the subject, in which they also include issues as whether or not to notify the removals within the same municipality, and the municipalities themselves are responsible for commenting on their official websites. In A section entitled ‘Most frequent questions about how to register in the register ‘the Madrid town hall is didactic. “Can I be registered in a place other than the one who resides? Every person living in Spain is obliged to register in the register of the municipality where he usually resides (…) on the other hand, the usual domicile in the municipality is one of the data that with a mandatory nature they must appear in the register. The City Council requires. And yes, the ‘no’ in capital letters is his. Vigo’s also remembers that demand On its official website. And what happens if I do not? That you expose yourself to a sanction. One that can actually reach 150 euros, although that will depend on the characteristics of each case. He Royal Decree 1690/1986 collects (article 87) that “the refusal to complete the patron registration sheets, the lack of signature of these, the omissions or falsehoods” can lead the mayor to apply sanctions adjusting to article 59 of the Decree 781/1986. In general, anyone who breaches their obligations with registration. And what does that article contemplate? Simple. It details the fork of sanctions that each town hall can impose on those who fail to comply with its obligations with the register. The document He still speaks of pesetas, but the change to euros is simple. In the case of the consistories of between 5,000 and 20,000 inhabitants, it foresees penalties of up to 30 euros; in those between 20,001 and 50,000 the sanction rises to 60 euros; Those who have between 50,001 and 500,000 residents can raise the fine to 90 euros; And the largest, those cities that exceed half a million neighbors, the punishment for not complying with legal obligations rises to 150. A key document. It may seem exaggerated, but the register is more than a simple administrative record or a tool for demographic studies. The Ministry of Presidency in Another Royal Decreein which he underlined the “great importance” of local censuses. In fact, it is essential to opt “with all guarantees” to certain public services or votes in the City Council in which each one resides. Having more or less population also directly affects the consistories in such relevant aspects as resources and expenses. INEAF Precise In addition, not being properly registered can respond to more than a mistake. The entity recalls the “illicit region”, with a fraudulent character, with which it seeks to have access to certain financial aid, municipal services (a school, for example) or tax benefits. Precisely to avoid it, the regulations … Read more

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