2026 Budget: IMSS and ISSSTE pensions cut

The 2026 Federal Expenditure Budget proposal calls for allocating 2.3 trillion pesos to pension spending, but for the first time since 2018, there will be a reduction in the amounts allocated to the IMSS and ISSSTE , two of the institutions with the largest number of retirees in the country.

According to an analysis by the Center for Economic and Budgetary Research ( CIEP ), IMSS pensions will decline by 2.5% and ISSSTE pensions by 2.3% , despite the fact that the number of pensioners in both institutions is growing by around 3% each year.

Contributory pensions, in which workers, companies, and the government participate, will have a fund of 1.7 trillion pesos , representing a minimal increase of just 0.05%.

The CIEP warns that this estimate is unrealistic, since by July 2025, spending on contributory pensions had increased 6.6% compared to the same period in 2024.

In contrast, the Ministry of Welfare will receive a significant increase in funding. Its pension programs will grow by 13.5%, reaching 619.703 billion pesos .

Among them, the most notable is the 266% increase in the Women's Welfare Pension , aimed at women between 60 and 64 years old, with which the Government seeks to benefit nearly 3 million people.

Other programs will also be adjusted upwards:

• Senior Citizens' Pension: +5.2%
• Pension for People with Disabilities: +20.8%

Overall, pension spending will grow by 3.7% in 2026, but this will be the first time since 2018 that it has grown below 5%. In previous years, the average increase was 8.5%.

The CIEP points out that, in a country with a rapidly aging population, pensions should be adjusted at least in line with inflation. Otherwise, it warns, the deficit will grow and the social security system will face greater pressure in the coming years.