The the first time in recent history, civil service workers (whose pensions depend on state funding and not social security) realized that their bank accounts did not post deposits at the end of the month, because salary payments and summer bonuses have been delayed one week.
The payments typically arrive together, as in December with monthly paychecks and holiday bonuses. Pensioners should receive their funds by July 1, but they have spent the past few days doubting whether this will happen because they payments have never been delayed this long before.
Spain´s central administration, who pays the pensions, has not shirked any legal responsibility considering that the deadline to pay pensions isn?t until the third day of the month.
The Minister of the Economy said that the delayed payments resulted from technical problems. But this stock excuse hides very real liquidity problems according to sources from the public works department. Faced with two payments in June (the monthly salary and the summer bonus), the banks that handle payrolls for national pensions were unable to manage such a large draw on their accounts.
The financial stakes for these pensions has grown to monthly payments of nearly 780 million euros. In June and December this amount is two times greater because of holiday bonuses. Because of the delayed payments, these payments would total 1.5 billion euros.
Translated and Edited in English by Brandon Dyches and Jose L. De Haro
