Business · Economy · 6 hrs ago
Spain's Social Security records €116.1bn negative net worth
Spain's Social Security system ended 2025 with a record €116.1bn in negative net worth in its latest closed accounts.
The system needs loans from the Spanish state to cover pensions and other spending.
The figure rose by about €10bn from 2024, when the recorded shortfall was €107.375bn.
The government says the accounting deficit narrowed to €7.352bn, but critics say that measure leaves out large state contributions and does not show the system's underlying funding gap.
The figures come as Pedro Sánchez and opposition leader Alberto Núñez Feijóo have voiced support for raising pensions in line with inflation, while neither has proposed extra measures to control costs.
Funcas estimates that a 3.6% pension increase next year would add €8.4bn to the bill; an expert cited in the story estimates the total increase could reach €17bn when other factors are included.
The Tribunal de Cuentas is due to begin auditing the record figures in the coming weeks, while the government says the state will ensure pensions are paid.
Spain’s Social Security system recorded negative net worth of €116.1 billion in 2025, the largest negative balance in its history, according to figures from the Ministry of Inclusion.
The figure is about €10 billion higher than the revised 2024 balance of €107.375 billion.
The ministry says the system’s accounting deficit narrowed to €7.352 billion in 2025, while analysts say that figure does not include the state contributions needed to balance the accounts.
The system continues to rely on state loans to cover pensions and other expenses.
The Court of Accounts is due to begin auditing the figures in the coming weeks.
- Who
- Spain’s Social Security system, with figures reported by the Ministry of Inclusion.
- What
- It recorded negative net worth of €116.1 billion in 2025, a record.
- When
- In the 2025 financial year; the figures were reported on October 15, 2026.
- Where
- Spain.
- Why
- The system continues to need state loans to cover pensions and other expenses.
Spanish Ministry of Inclusion
Miguel Ángel García and other analysts
Meaning of the accounts
Spanish Ministry of Inclusion
The accounting deficit narrowed to €7.352 billion in 2025, or 0.4% of GDP.
Miguel Ángel García and other analysts
The accounting figure does not include the substantial state contributions needed to balance the accounts.
The Social Security system’s negative net worth was initially reported at €107.375 billion; the figure was later revised upward by more than €1 billion.
The system recorded negative net worth of €116.1 billion, while the ministry put its accounting deficit at €7.352 billion.
El Mundo reported the ministry’s figures for the closed 2025 accounts.
The Court of Accounts is due to begin auditing the figures.
- 2025 negative net worth
- €116.1 billion
- 2024 negative net worth
- €107.375 billion, later revised upward by more than €1 billion
- 2025 accounting deficit
- €7.352 billion, or 0.4% of GDP
- State loans
- Used to cover pensions and other expenses
- Audit
- Court of Accounts, expected to begin in the coming weeks
What people are saying
a 1.8% increase in pensions and the so-called substitution effect, which adds another 2%
This new increase in negative net worth shows that the system remains in deficit and needs, in addition to state transfers, new loans within the narrow limits allowed by the extended budgets