Andorran Pensioners Receive Tiered February Increases
CASS applies retroactive 2026 budget hikes prioritizing low pensions: 5.4% for most under minimum wage, tapering to zero for highest earners.
Key Points
- 86% retirees, 94% invalidity, 86% widows under €1,525 get 5.4% (double 2.7% CPI).
- 13% retirees, 5% invalidity, 14% widows (€1,525-€3,050) receive 2.7% CPI match.
- €3,050-€4,576 tier: 0.68%; over €4,576 unchanged (153 total recipients).
- Critics decry high-pension freeze eroding power; prior non-resident limit proposal dropped.
Andorran pensioners began receiving their February payments from the CASS on Wednesday, incorporating tiered increases approved in the 2026 budget law and applied retroactively from 1 January. The adjustments target contributory pensions—after deducting contributions or aggregating multiple pensions—based on monthly amounts relative to the 2026 minimum interprofessional wage of €1,525.33 and 2.7% consumer price index (CPI) inflation.
Pensions of €1,525.33 or less qualify for a 5.4% rise, double the CPI. This affects the overwhelming majority of recipients: 12,989 of 15,093 retirees (86%), 1,807 of 1,909 invalidity pensioners (over 94%), and 2,628 of 3,065 widowhood pensioners (85.7%).
Amounts from €1,525.33 to €3,050.66—up to double the minimum wage—receive 2.7%, aligning with the CPI. This covers 1,951 retirees (13%), 101 invalidity cases (5.3%), and 430 widowhood recipients (14%).
Pensions between €3,050.66 and €4,575.99—double to triple the minimum wage—get a 0.68% adjustment, roughly a quarter of the CPI. This group includes 121 retirees, one invalidity pensioner, and seven widowhood cases.
Higher pensions exceeding €4,575.99 see no change, impacting just 32 retirees and none in invalidity or widowhood categories.
CASS adheres to its usual payment calendar, with February transfers issued on the 25th for prompt bank crediting—except October (23rd) and December (18th). The approach prioritises lower pensions, consistent with prior years. Last October, the Federation of Senior Citizens called for triple the CPI on the lowest amounts, but the request was not implemented. In 2024, an early proposal to restrict increases to residents was dropped following concerns from the French Co-Prince's representative over potential unconstitutionality.
Some higher-pension recipients have voiced frustration over the freeze, arguing it erodes purchasing power in a system not initially structured for such caps. They also challenge updates for non-residents, tied to Andorra's cost-of-living index and drawn from the retirement reserve fund.
Original Sources
This article was aggregated from the following Catalan-language sources:
- El Periòdic•
Les pensions de fins a 1.525,33 euros s’incrementen un 5,4% des d’aquest dimecres amb efectes retroactius
- Bon Dia•
Entra en vigor l'increment de pensions per aquest any
- ARA•
S'aplica l'augment de pensions del 2026 amb efectes des de l'1 de gener
- Altaveu•
Els pensionistes cobren a partir d'avui les prestacions amb els increments previstos per al 2026
- Diari d'Andorra•
32 pensionistes superen els 4.575 euros
- Diari d'Andorra•
Les pensions inferiors a 1.525 euros s'incrementaran un 5,4%