Spain’s pension reform will increase contributions from top earners in 2026
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If you earn one of Spain’s highest salaries, 2026 is shaping up to be another expensive year. New figures from the Social Security ministry show that contributions paid by top earners will jump sharply, with revenue from the highest salaries expected to rise by 42 per cent in just one year.
The increase is part of Spain’s ongoing pension reform, quietly rolled out over several years, designed to prepare the system for the retirement of the baby boom generation. While most workers will see small increases in their monthly contributions, those at the top of the pay scale will once again shoulder the biggest share of the burden.
Why the biggest salaries are paying more
The reform, approved in 2023, introduced several new tools to strengthen Social Security income. Two of them are now coming fully into play: the intergenerational equity mechanism (MEI) and the solidarity contribution.
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The solidarity contribution only applies to salaries that exceed the maximum contribution base, which will sit just above €5,100 per month in 2026. As that threshold rises, so does the amount collected. According to official projections, revenue from this levy alone will reach €567 million next year, a dramatic 42 per cent increase compared to 2025.
Alongside this, the MEI continues its steady climb. Introduced in 2023, the mechanism was designed to build a financial buffer for the years when pension costs are expected to peak. In 2026, it is forecast to generate €5.3 billion, almost double what it raised in its first year and around 20 per cent more than this year.
Taken together, these two measures will bring in nearly €5.9 billion, making them one of the fastest-growing sources of income for the Social Security system.
More money in – but no bigger pensions
One of the key points often overlooked in this debate is what contributors actually get back. Despite paying more, high earners will not see their future pensions increase as a result.
“These contributions improve the sustainability of the system, but they don’t create individual rights,” explains Enrique Devesa, a researcher at the Valencian Institute of Economic Research. In simple terms, workers are paying more to keep the system afloat, not to boost their own retirement income.
The MEI payments go directly into the pension reserve fund, sometimes referred to as the “pensions piggy bank”. That fund cannot be touched until 2033, when demographic pressure is expected to be at its most intense. The solidarity contribution, meanwhile, is explicitly designed to reinforce the system’s redistributive nature, shifting more of the cost onto higher incomes.
From January 2026, the MEI rate will rise again to 0.9 per cent, with companies covering most of the increase. The solidarity contribution will also step up across its three income brackets.
Jobs and wages still doing the heavy lifting
Despite the focus on new levies, the government insists that employment growth remains the real engine behind rising Social Security income.
Total contribution revenue is expected to reach €189.8 billion in 2026, around 7 per cent more than this year. Much of that increase depends on continued job creation and wage growth, both of which are forecast to remain positive, if slightly slower than in recent years.
Most economic forecasters expect employment to grow by between 1.7 and 2.2 per cent next year, adding hundreds of thousands of new workers. Salaries are also expected to rise by around 3 per cent, helping to push contributions higher.
Funcas economist Raymond Torres says the labour market remains resilient, but warns that the pace may cool. “The economy is still creating jobs, but we’re starting to see signs of moderation, particularly as migration flows weaken,” he notes.
For now, the numbers suggest the reform is delivering what it set out to do: bring in more money without cutting pensions. Whether that will be enough to cope with the wave of retirements still to come remains one of Spain’s biggest unanswered questions.
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