The government plans to expand temporary-incapacity protection and several pension and family benefits before the 29 November election. It is also preparing an increase of about 5% in the minimum wage, while a CPI-linked pension rise is planned for after the vote.
Ministers are due to consider a decree this Tuesday that would extend temporary-incapacity protection to women with menopause-related conditions and survivors of gender-based violence. The package also covers pensions and family support. The government wants to pass pending measures before the 29 November election.
For survivors of gender-based violence, the proposed benefit would equal 60% of the regulatory base through the 20th day of leave, then rise to 75%. Employers would pay the salary for the first day; Social Security would cover the benefit after that. The measure is part of a planned series of cabinet meetings focused on social policy. Separately, on 13 October, the Council of Ministers approved changes to free legal aid. The changes extend immediate access to victims of terrorism and human trafficking, as well as victims of sexual violence. Some people with disabilities would also qualify, regardless of their financial means. The new rules provide for travel-expense compensation on terms similar to those available to victims of gender-based violence.
Parents caring for a child with cancer or another serious illness could receive the benefit at the same time or take turns claiming it.
In cases of greater vulnerability, support could continue beyond age 26 if the person has grade III dependency or a particularly high level of disability.
The decree would make it easier for surviving partners in unmarried couples to qualify for a widow’s pension. Having children together would be enough to establish the relationship. Applicants whose claims were rejected could request a review within the next 12 months.
Extraordinary pensions linked to terrorist acts would have a minimum value equal to two minimum wages, or €2,442. That is 36% above the previous floor. The proposal would also raise contributory support for children orphaned by gender-based violence, setting a floor of twice the SMI. Non-contributory benefits could reach the same level. Advances from the Food Guarantee Fund would rise from €100 to €300 per beneficiary, and last longer.
Some measures would use decree laws. If approved, they would need validation by Parliament’s Permanent Deputation within a month. The government sees that route as more favourable than a vote in the full Congress, where Junts votes would be irrelevant. It would still need support from the left and the PNV.
The timing is political as well as practical. The government wants to set its social-spending agenda against Alberto Núñez Feijóo’s talk of possible sacrifices and cuts. Housing has also figured in coverage of Gabriel Rufián’s property disclosure.
Yolanda Díaz is preparing a minimum-wage increase of around 5%. A CPI-linked pension rise is planned for after the election because there is not enough time to approve it beforehand. Since 2022, the annual adjustment of contributory pensions has been tied by law to average inflation over the 12 months from December to November. Preliminary November inflation data are scheduled for 27 November, two days before the election. The government plans to approve the 2027 pension adjustment in December. Economy Minister Carlos Cuerpo has said the statutory adjustment is guaranteed by law. The mechanism affects more than 9.5 million pensioners.
For 2026, Royal Decree-Law 3/2026, dated 3 February and approved by Congress on 26 February, raised contributory pensions by 2.7%. Minimum and non-contributory pensions rose by about 7%, while some minimum-income payments increased by 11.4%. Those increases are separate from the measures now under discussion. Funcas has projected a 3.6% pension rise for 2027. That would add about €50 a month to the average pension, taking it above €1,424 a month, or roughly €700 more over a year. Other proposals remain under discussion, with ministers from Sumar and the PSOE pressing competing priorities. The government is also considering a possible pardon for former attorney general Álvaro García Ortiz, whom it considers to have been wrongly sentenced to two years of disqualification.
