For an employee with a €1,500 contribution base, the monthly deduction for Spain’s Mecanismo de Equidad Intergeneracional (MEI) will increase from €2.25 to €2.55 on 1 January 2027. That adds 30 cents a month, or €3.60 over a year if the base stays unchanged.
The change is part of a scheduled increase in this social security contribution. It does not reduce an employee’s gross salary. Instead, more will be withheld from pay, leaving take-home pay slightly lower if salary and other conditions remain unchanged. The MEI is calculated against the common-contingency contribution base and is separate from income tax and the ordinary pension contribution.
In 2026, the MEI rate is 0.90% of the contribution base for common contingencies. Employers pay 0.75%, while workers pay 0.15%. From 2027, the total rate will be 1%, with employers paying 0.83% and employees 0.17%. The worker’s share therefore rises by 0.02 percentage points. On a €1,500 base, the employer’s monthly MEI payment will be €12.45 in 2027, up from €11.25 in 2026, an increase of €1.20.
The MEI took effect on 1 January 2023 under Real Decreto-ley 2/2023, published in the BOE on 17 March that year. It is intended to add resources to the Social Security Reserve Fund, commonly known as the pensions reserve fund, as the system prepares for higher spending linked to the retirement of the baby-boom generation. The contribution supports the system collectively rather than going into an individual worker’s pension account. It is separate from a wealth-tax proposal described in an earlier report.
The scheduled rate will keep rising after 2027, reaching 1.10% in 2028 and 1.20% in 2029. The 1.20% rate is set to remain in place from 2030 through 2050, split equally between employers and workers, at 0.60% each.
Employees who pay into the system for retirement are covered, subject to legal exceptions. Self-employed workers will pay the full 1% MEI rate themselves in 2027. A separate solidarity contribution is also due to increase that year, but it applies only to employees whose earnings exceed the maximum contribution base.
