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Statistics on Contributory Pensions. Contributory Social Security Pensions and Pensioners. 2020-2021

Infographic

Infografia(In Catalan)

The average gross amount received by contributory Social Security pensioners in December 2021 in Catalonia was 1,240 euros, and the county where it was highest was El Barcelonès with 1,338 euros, followed by El Tarragonès (1,280 euros) and El Baix Llobregat (1,275 euros). In contrast, residents in La Terra Alta received the lowest pensions (892 euros).

Among municipalities with more than 20,000 inhabitants, Sant Cugat del Vallès is where contributory pensioners received the highest average amount, with 1,512 euros per month, followed by Sant Quirze del Vallès (1,481 euros) and Barcelona (1,386 euros), while Lloret de Mar (1,002 euros) and Amposta (1,020 euros) are the municipalities in this group where the monthly amount was the lowest in December 2021.

By sex, in 2021 51.6% of pensioners were women and 48.4% were men. The average received in terms of pensions was 1,062 euros for women and 1,430 euros for men.

Compared to previous years, the average amount received by pensioners increased by 2.2% compared to 2020 and by 4.7% compared to 2019. In all counties the average amount increased compared to 2019.

In 2021, the number of pensioners residing in Catalonia that received contributory Social Security pensions was 1,518,402, equivalent to 19.6% of the population. The counties with the highest proportion of pensioners out of the total population were El Berguedà (28.2%), El Ripollès and La Terra Alta (both 27.7%), while those with the lowest proportions were Aran (14.3%) and La Cerdanya (14.6%). In absolute numbers, the counties with the highest number of pensioners were El Barcelonès (475,157), El Vallès Occidental (177,637) and El Baix Llobregat (157,757).

Among municipalities with 20,000 inhabitants and more, Barcelona was the municipality with the most pensioners (343,905), followed by L'Hospitalet de Llobregat (54,302) and Sabadell (46,196). Esplugues de Llobregat (23.4%), Manresa (22.2%) and Igualada (22.1%) have the highest percentages of pensioners out of their respective populations, while those with the lowest percentages are Salou, Sant Cugat del Vallès and Lloret de Mar (12.8%, 13.4% and 13.5%, respectively).

The number of pensioners increased compared to the previous year by 12,278 persons in 2021, while in 2020 pensioners had decreased by 7,560 persons. The percentage increase in the number of pensioners in 2021 is 0.8% compared to 2020, and 0.3% compared to 2019, the prepandemic year.