Contributory pensions will approach one trillion pesos in 2026
Public spending on contributory pensions by the federal government reached almost one trillion pesos in the first seven months of 2026, meaning that this item absorbed practically one out of every five pesos of budget revenues.

Spending by Mexico's federal government on contributory pensions and retirement benefits reached 990.568 billion pesos between January and July 2026—a record figure that highlights the growing pressure this spending is placing on Mexico's public finances.

Figures from the Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) show that spending on contributory pensions rose 5% in real terms compared with the same period in 2025. The increase comes as the federal government must distribute its resources among social programmes, public services, infrastructure and investment.

The scale of the spending is clear when compared with federal government revenue. During the first seven months of the year, budget revenues totalled 4.996 trillion pesos, meaning pensions absorbed about 20% of the total.

Put simply, one out of every five pesos received by the federal government went towards contributory pension payments.

Pension spending continues to rise

An analysis by Grupo Financiero Base found that this share was the highest for a comparable period since 1995, when comparable records began.

The weight of pension spending is also evident when compared with tax collection. Pension spending was equivalent to 29% of total tax revenue, 56% of revenue from income tax (ISR) and nearly 95% of value-added tax revenue.

Pensions also accounted for approximately 25% of the federal government's programmable spending and exceeded the resources allocated to physical investment by more than twofold.

Grupo Financiero Base said the growth of current spending, pensions and welfare programmes is limiting the government's budgetary room for manoeuvre. As a result, a significant share of the adjustment is being concentrated in discretionary spending, particularly public investment.

How much will be spent by year-end?

Carlos Ramírez, managing partner at Integralia Consultores, estimated that spending on contributory pensions could reach 2.3 trillion pesos by the end of 2026.

The specialist also said the Finance Ministry needs to find about 100 billion pesos in additional funding each year to cover the growth of these obligations.

Contributory pensions are paid to workers who made social security contributions during their working lives, mainly those employed in the formal sector.

They differ from non-contributory pensions, which are state benefits provided to certain groups without requiring previous contributions.

It is important to note that the 990.568 billion pesos reported by the Finance Ministry do not include non-contributory pensions, whose data are presented separately in quarterly public finance reports.

The growth in pension spending is therefore one of the main challenges facing public finances: meeting these obligations while maintaining sufficient resources for infrastructure, investment, healthcare, education and other public services.