These are the embargoes on retirement pensions that Social Security can make: these are the amounts

One of the functions of Social Security is the collection of contributions made by workers and which, in turn, affect the payment of pensions for pensioners. Failure to comply with this responsibility entails consequences for citizens who owe money to the agency and can even lead to embargoes.

It may be possible, of course, that a person who becomes a pensioner suffers cuts in their retirement pension to proceed with the compensation of the debt contracted with Social Security. In that case, certain garnishments on your retirement pension.

This embargo is not carried out in full, that is, it is not applied to the total pension and its entire amount. The regulations assure the pensioner different amounts without embargo so that he can satisfy his essential needs and expenses. And, with regard to the rest of the pension, seizures by income brackets that increase as the amount of the pension is greater.

The reference text in Spain to determine the seizure of pensions is the Civil Procedure Law, which in its article 607 (you can consult it in this link of the Official State Gazette) explain what the amounts included up to the Minimum Interprofessional Salary are unseizable and that they are left out of those Social Security embargoes. In 2023 the SMI is 1,080 euros per month.

If the pension exceeds that amount, the embargoes will begin to be applied. The law states different sections of the amount of the pension to which different percentages of attachment are applied. The greater the amounts, the greater the embargoes:

-The amounts between the SMI and twice the SMI have an embargo of the 30%.

-Amounts between double and triple the SMI have an embargo of the fifty%.

-Amounts between three and four times the SMI have an embargo of the 60%.

-Amounts between four and five times the SMI have an embargo of the 75%.

-Amounts from five times the SMI have an embargo of 90%.

And if the citizen collects two pensions or receives more income outside of the pension? The law makes it clear that all these incomes are added to determine the unattachable part and then proceed to calculate the embargoes. In addition, the spouse’s income may count in the event that the marriage is not in separation of property.

There is also the possibility that Social Security makes small discounts on this embargo when family responsibilities are accredited: these discounts will be between 10% and 15% for all the embargo sections except for the last one, from five times of the IMS.

How Social Security garnishes a retirement pension

The operation of Social Security embargoes is similar to that of Personal Income Tax withholdings on our wages. That is, embargoes of a certain percentage are made that only affect specific income brackets.

Thus, a person who receives 2,000 euros of pension will not have a 30% embargo (because it is between the SMI and double the SMI), since that 30% will only be calculated on the 920 euros that exceed the SMI. This gives rise to an embargo of 276 euros, 13.8% of the pension.

The rest of embargoes to retirement pensions

Apart from this general regulation, there are two exceptions in which the liens on pensions are somewhat different. They are the following:

-The Debts for payment of alimony or alimony benefits to spouses or children after a court ruling. In these cases, explains the Civil Procedure Law, “the court will set the amount that can be seized.”

-The debts for amounts improperly received from Social Security. Some sentences have established the non-seizable limit in the amount of the non-contributory retirement pension (now it is 484.61 euros per month), but Royal Decree 148/1996, of February 5 (you can consult it in this link of the Official State Gazette) explain what:

-The embargo is between 21% and 30% of the pension if the amount of the pension is equal to or greater than the maximum pension.

-The embargo is between 15% and 20% if the pension is less than half the maximum pension and greater than the minimum retirement pension for people over 65 years of age.

-The embargo is between 10% and 14% if the amount of the pension is less than the minimum amount of the retirement pension.