The Supreme Court rules in favor of thousands of pensioners: they will be able to claim 1,800 euros from Social Security

Currently, there is no specific and monographic reform in the General Courts dedicated to the former “maternity supplement” or the current supplement for the reduction of the gender gap in pensions. What does exist is a series of royal decree-laws on pensions and economic measures that set the amount of that supplement year by year and are being processed as draft laws, all of them in a very initial phase, with the amendment period open until September 2, 2026. Additionally, a bill from Junts that proposed setting the 2026 amount was withdrawn and, therefore, will not proceed. In practice, the reform of the supplement is occurring in an incremental manner and linked to the general revaluation of pensions, not through a large isolated structural reform.

1. Current regulatory framework on the supplement

The current supplement originates from the pension reform approved with Royal Decree-law 2/2023, to which all subsequent regulations refer when updating its amount. Since then, each annual revaluation regulation or Social Security measure package sets the monthly amount of the supplement:

• For 2024, the amount was set at €33.20 per month, according to Royal Decree-law 8/2023, published in the BOE on December 28, 2023 (BOE 28-12-2023).
• For 2025, the Government updated it again to €35.90 per month in Royal Decree-law 1/2025, of January 28, published in the BOE on January 29, 2025 (BOE 29-01-2025).

An earlier royal decree-law, Royal Decree-law 9/2024, also regulated the amount (€35.90), but it was rejected by Congress on January 22, 2025 (171 yes, 177 no, 1 abstention) and its processing ended, according to the BOE of December 24, 2024 (BOE 24-12-2024).

2. Initiatives in process affecting the supplement

a) Pension revaluation 2026 (RDL 3/2026)

The Royal Decree-law 3/2026, of February 3, for the revaluation of public pensions and other urgent Social Security measures, was approved by the Council of Ministers on February 3, 2026 (Council of Ministers reference) and published in the BOE on February 4, 2026 (BOE 04-02-2026).

• Type of initiative: Royal decree-law processed as a draft law.
• File: 130/000034 → Draft Law 121/000086.
• Parliamentary status: ratified by the Plenary and in amendment phase in Congress, with the deadline extended until September 2, 2026 (can be seen in the session diary and in the project file [link]).
• Current effects: the royal decree-law is in force; amendments could modify, among other aspects, the specific regulation of the supplement.

b) Urgent economic and Social Security measures 2025 (RDL 1/2025)

The Royal Decree-law 1/2025, of January 28, which includes the update of the gender gap supplement for 2025, was ratified and is processed as:

• Draft Law 121/000047, “which approves urgent measures in economic matters, transport, Social Security, and to address vulnerability situations,” visible in the parliamentary file.
• Status: in committee, with amendment period extended until September 2, 2026. There is no committee report nor has it been sent to the Senate yet.

c) Junts Bill (withdrawn)

The Bill to guarantee the purchasing power of public pensions (122/000252), from the Junts Group, expressly included that “the pension supplement [...] for the reduction of the gender gap will have for 2026 an amount of €36.90 per month.” It was admitted for processing and published on February 13, 2026 (BOCG publication), but on March 20, 2026, the initiative was withdrawn, according to the latest publication (BOCG withdrawal).

Therefore, that specific increase to €36.90 for 2026 will not continue its processing.

3. Other related initiatives but not focused on the supplement

There are several draft laws in Congress that affect gender equality and work-life balance, and therefore indirectly impact the gender gap in pensions, although they do not directly reform the supplement:

• Families Draft Law (121/000011), aimed at economic and care support for families (file), in amendment phase extended until 9-2-2026.
• Draft Law on simplification and improvement of unemployment assistance level and transposition of Directive 2019/1158 (121/000027, from RDL 2/2024), also with extended amendment period (file).
• Draft Law for improving compatibility of retirement pension with work (121/000045, from RDL 11/2024), likewise in amendment phase until 9-2-2026 (file).

There is no information in the sources about new specific initiatives to harmonize the supplement derived from recent rulings of the CJEU or the Constitutional Court; judicial references appear rather in the recitals of major reforms (such as Royal Decree-law 2/2023 itself), which are already in force.

4. Overall situation as of today

In summary: the gender gap supplement is in force and its amount is updated by royal decree-laws on revaluation and economic packages. The currently “active” reforms in Parliament are mainly the processing as draft laws of RDL 3/2026 and RDL 1/2025; both could introduce additional adjustments to the supplement during the amendment process. However, no ongoing initiative currently points to a deep structural reconfiguration of the supplement’s design, but rather to its update and possible technical adjustment within the framework of general pension system and work-life balance reforms.

Other BOE documents and regional bulletins included in the sources, but not linked to this specific reform, can be consulted at: Royal Decree 39/2026, Royal Decree 241/2026, UIMP agreement, AEMET agreement, University of Cantabria agreement, University of Málaga agreement, Castilla y León agreement, National Parks agreement, conservation and restoration agreement, Defense-UAX agreement, Imserso agreement, Defense-Nebrija agreement, BOC Canarias 110/2026, BOC Canarias 87/2026.

The National Social Security Institute (INSS) is the state managing entity competent to recognize, manage, review, and resolve most of the supplements associated with economic benefits of the system (for example, minimum supplements or the supplement for the reduction of the gender gap). These competences derive mainly from the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law (LGSS) approved by Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015 and from the organic regulations of the INSS itself, especially Royal Decree 2583/1996 (amended by norms such as Royal Decree 449/2012 and Royal Decree 496/2020). Based on this framework, a distinction can be made between initial management functions, control and review, resolution of prior claims, and coordination with other bodies. Although each specific supplement has particular rules, the INSS’s competence structure is quite homogeneous.

1. Management and initial recognition of supplements

Generally, the LGSS assigns the INSS the management and recognition of the system’s economic benefits (retirement, disability, widowhood, orphanhood, etc.), and within that competence is also included the supplements linked to those benefits. In practice, this implies:

• Processing the application submitted by the beneficiary (directly or through a representative), including verification of personal, income, and cohabitation requirements when the supplement depends on them (as in minimum or family burden supplements).
• Calculation and recognition of the supplement in the same resolution as the pension or in a subsequent resolution if the supplement is requested or reviewed later.
• Application of specific regulations governing each figure (for example, the supplement for the reduction of the gender gap introduced and reformed by norms such as Royal Decree-law 3/2021 and Royal Decree-law 2/2023).
• Ongoing management of the supplement in pension payrolls: registrations, cancellations, amount variations, and periodic communications of data that may affect it.

Organically, these functions are framed within the General Subdirectorates of Benefit Management and the Provincial Directorates of the INSS, as derived from the organic regulations amended by Royal Decree 449/2012 and Royal Decree 496/2020.

2. Review, control, and modifications ex officio or at the request of the party

The INSS has competence to review and control supplements throughout the life of the benefit. This includes:

• Review at the request of the party, when the beneficiary communicates changes (for example, income or family situation changes that may lead to granting, increasing, reducing, or suppressing the supplement).
• Ex officio review, when the INSS itself detects, through data cross-checks or internal controls, that the circumstances determining the supplement have changed (exceeding income limits, death of dependents, etc.).
• Annual regularization in income-conditioned supplements (such as minimums), especially after fiscal information and revaluation criteria set each year in the General State Budget laws (for example, Law 31/2022 for 2023) and in pension revaluation royal decrees (such as Royal Decree 1058/2022).
• Recovery of undue benefits when, after review, it is found that the supplement was received without right or in an amount higher than due.

3. Resolution of prior claims and connection with social jurisdiction

Against INSS resolutions on recognition, denial, review, or termination of supplements, the interested person must file a prior administrative claim before going to social jurisdiction. In this area, the following competences correspond to the INSS:

• Admit and process the prior claim filed against its resolutions, including those related to minimum supplements, gender gap, or other pension supplements.
• Fully review the file and issue a new resolution (favorable, unfavorable, or partial modification), which exhausts the administrative route in contributory benefits matters.
• Act as defendant before Social Courts and Tribunals when the beneficiary files a judicial claim, providing the file and defending the legality of its actions.

This scheme derives from the LGSS and general administrative procedure and social jurisdiction regulations, where the INSS is the managing entity responsible for the challenged decisions on benefits and supplements.

4. Coordination with other bodies

Managing supplements requires constant coordination with other actors in the social protection system:

• General Treasury of Social Security (TGSS): while the TGSS assumes the collection and single treasury function (LGSS articles and its development in Royal Decree 496/2020), the INSS calculates and recognizes the supplement; both bodies cross-check contribution data, registrations, and cancellations to determine pension amounts and their supplements.
• Social Institute of the Sea (ISM): in the Special Maritime Regime, the ISM manages benefits, but many supplement rules are coordinated with the INSS and the general LGSS framework.
• Tax Agency and other administrations: the INSS uses income, assets, and marital status information to verify requirements for supplements based on economic resources.
• Regional social services and other public benefits: through the Public Social Benefits Registry and instruments like the “Universal Social Card,” regulated in INSS resolutions, compatibilities and incompatibilities between pension supplements and other aids are verified.

In sum, the INSS not only recognizes the initial right to supplements but also dynamically administers them (control, review, prior claim, and inter-institutional coordination) throughout the life of the benefit, within the framework set by the LGSS and the cited organic and budgetary regulations.

The supplement for the reduction of the gender gap is currently regulated in article 60 of the General Social Security Law (LGSS), consolidated text approved by Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015 (LGSS), after its reform by Royal Decree-law 3/2021 (RDL 3/2021) and Royal Decree-law 2/2023 (RDL 2/2023). Accessible sources indicate that it is a supplement linked to contributory pensions, calculated based on the number of children and intended to correct the gender gap, and that it replaces the former “maternity supplement.” However, the consulted texts do not fully show the specific requirements (types of pension, minimum number of children, etc.) nor the jurisprudential criteria on compensation for discriminatory denials of the former supplement, so those aspects cannot be detailed precisely.

1. Legal framework of the gender gap supplement

Article 60 LGSS is inserted in the consolidated text approved by Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015 (LGSS). The key reform comes from RDL 3/2021, which “redefines” the former maternity supplement following the Court of Justice of the European Union ruling of December 12, 2019 (case WA), expressly cited in its preamble. That ruling declared that the configuration only for women of the maternity supplement was contrary to Directive 79/7/EEC for discriminating against men in the same situation.

The preamble of RDL 3/2021 explains that:

• The new supplement is no longer a “reward” for demographic contribution, but an instrument aimed at the reduction of the gender gap in pensions, using the number of children as an objective criterion because birth and care are one of the main causes of that gap.
• It is designed as a positive action measure essentially directed at women, but with an “open door” to men who prove a career contribution disadvantage linked to child care, in accordance with the CJEU requirements.

Subsequently, RDL 2/2023 introduces technical adjustments, including a provision linking the supplement’s validity to the gender gap in retirement pensions being above 5%, and another clarifying the application of certain contribution computation rules (art. 60.1.b).3.) to pensions granted from February 4, 2021.

2. Legal requirements derived from the LGSS and royal decree-laws

From the available fragments of the LGSS as amended and RDL 3/2021, the following basic elements can be extracted:

• Objective scope: it is a “contributory pension supplement for the reduction of the gender gap.” Therefore, it is linked to contributory pensions of the Social Security system, not to non-contributory benefits.
• Purpose: to correct the gender gap in pensions, understood — according to the LGSS itself — as the percentage representing the difference between the average amount of contributory retirement pensions granted in a year to women and men.
• Duration of the right: the right to this supplement “will be maintained as long as the gender gap in retirement pensions, granted in the previous year, is above 5%.” When it falls below that threshold, the Government must submit a bill to the Cortes to repeal article 60 and associated measures (as derived from the LGSS amended by RDL 2/2023).
• Financing: the LGSS expressly provides that “the financing of the contributory pension supplement for the reduction of the gender gap of article 60 will be made through a State transfer to the Social Security budget.” This is a relevant institutional requirement, although it does not directly affect individual applications.
• Recognition criterion: the preamble of RDL 3/2021 indicates that the number of children is the objective criterion and that the supplement is linked to the professional disadvantage derived from caring for those children, with preference for women, unless a man can prove a comparable disadvantage situation.

The complete wording of article 60 LGSS after its reform (where it specifies exactly who can apply, types of pensions included, age, minimum number of children, etc.) is not available in the consulted extracts. Therefore, those requirements cannot be detailed here without speculation.

3. Incompatibility rules with the former maternity supplement

The LGSS contains a relevant transitional provision (added by RDL 3/2021):

• Those already receiving the maternity supplement for demographic contribution at the time of the reform’s entry into force “will maintain their receipt.”
• Receiving that old supplement is incompatible with the new supplement for the reduction of the gender gap that might correspond to a new pension, allowing the interested person to choose between one or the other.
• If the other parent of any of the children that gave right to the old supplement applies for the new supplement and is entitled to receive it, the monthly amount recognized to that parent will be deducted from the maternity supplement previously received by the first, effective from the month following the resolution, under certain deadline rules.

4. Compensation for discriminatory denial of the former supplement

RDL 3/2021 expressly recognizes that the reform was adopted following the CJEU ruling of December 12, 2019, which declared discriminatory the former article 60 LGSS insofar as it reserved the supplement only to women. However, in the documentation handled there are no:

• Specific rules for calculating any compensation or damages for those who suffered that discrimination.
• Criteria set by the Supreme Court or higher courts on retroactivity, time limits, or amounts.

Therefore, regarding that “associated compensation,” it can only be stated, based on the sources, that its basis is the violation of the equality principle recognized by the CJEU and that the normative response was the creation of the new gender gap supplement. No further information is available in the consulted sources about amounts, calculation formulas, or procedural requirements to claim, which depend on judicial doctrine and case-by-case application.

To know those aspects precisely, it would be necessary to consult directly the rulings of the CJEU and Spanish courts applying the doctrine of case WA and the full and updated text of article 60 LGSS in the BOE, or seek specialized legal advice.