The Seguridad Social recorded 1 August 2026 in the Canary Islands 383,630 contributory pensions. The average monthly payment was €1,253.79, 4.83 per cent higher than in the same month the previous year. Despite the increase, the figure remained below the national average of €1,373.4 in August 2026. Spain’s Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration announced this on 25 August.
By pension type, the Canary Islands figures comprised 218,006 old-age pensions (averaging €1,457), 62,559 permanent incapacity pensions (€1,201), 84,094 widows’ and widowers’ pensions (€920), 16,289 orphan’s pensions (€524) and 2,682 pensions for family members (€799). The total number of pensions rose by 2.64 per cent compared with August 2025.
Nationally, the Seguridad Social paid August 2026 for the regular monthly payment of contributory pensions in 14,470.4 million euros , 6.2 per cent more than a year earlier. According to the ministry, the increase reflects the inflation-linked rise approved for 2026; the system’s average pension was up 4.6 per cent year on year.
The Canary Islands recorded strong annual increases both in the number of pensions and in their average value, but remain below the Spanish average in monetary terms. Structural factors include more frequently interrupted working histories and a high proportion of low-paid jobs in the services sector, resulting in lower earnings subject to contributions. Compared with the national average, this means a greater risk of low-income pensioner households for public budgets and local welfare systems, and a greater need for supplementary transfer payments.
The figures above refer to 1 August 2026; the official data were published on 25 August. The explanations of causes and consequences are expert context: they go beyond the administrative figures alone and cannot be directly inferred from a single month’s statistics.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).