The evangelical federation welcomes the initiative, but rejects the requirement for pastors and widows to pay contributions. It will request a meeting with the government and does not rule out legal action.
Elma Saiz, the government minister in charge of the decree about pensions of evangelical pastors who worked during the Franco dictatorship. / Photo: [link]Flickr La Moncloa[/link].
The Federation of Evangelical Religious Entities of Spain (FEREDE) has publicly assessed the recently approved Royal Decree, which recognises the ministry years of evangelical pastors prior to their inclusion in the General Social Security Scheme in 1999 as Social Security contributions.
In a statement signed by its president, Esteban Muñoz de Morales, and its executive secretary, Carolina Bueno, the Federation states that the regulation "represents a new acknowledgement by the government of the discrimination that has affected evangelical pastors and their families for decades".
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However, they conclude that the response “is insufficient, particularly for those who have suffered the consequences of that discrimination for years”.
One of the positive aspects highlighted by FEREDE is that the decree allows periods of Christian ministry during which no contributions were made to be counted retroactively from 1 January 2015, which may improve the retirement pensions of some pastors.
The Federation's main criticism is that the regulation does not provide compensation or redress for the religious discrimination sufferede under the Franco dictatorship and later, something recognised by the European Court of Human Rights and the Supreme Court. They do not agree with the government in that an obligation is kept for those affected to pay the 'capital cost' for those periods.
The evangelical federation points out that this discrimination led to “years without health cover, retirement or widow’s pensions”, and that hundreds of pastors and widows died without ever receiving those benefits.
“It is unfair to make them pay the capital costs of the pensions that have been denied to them for years, because the solution has come 27 years late”, says the statement.
[photo_footer] The statement published by FEREDE on 25 September 2026.[/photo_footer]
While the decree allows pastors to pay in instalments, FEREDE warns that, as the amount is deducted from their pension, the increase “may be virtually imperceptible for many of those affected”.
Widows are not permitted to pay in instalments; they must pay the full amount within one month to receive their pension or the increase.
The Federation asks that pastors and widows should not have to cover the full capital cost, as was the case with other groups, including Basque school teachers during the Franco regime, as well as dockworkers, domestic workers, and professional sportspeople.
“We are convinced that this is a matter of political will, not an economic problem”, states FEREDE, which stresses that, as the majority of those affected have already passed away, the impact on the state Treasury would be “negligible”.
FEREDE will request an urgent meeting with government officials to propose additional measures, particularly that the state should cover the capital costs for the periods during which pastors were unable to make contributions "due to a legal impediment imposed by the government itself".
The Federation reaffirms its “willingness to engage in dialogue” and its “outstretched hand”, but warns that if no agreement is reached, the decree “could entrench the long-standing discrimination” affecting the entire evangelical community. Therefore, it will not abandon “any of the legal avenues” available to it.
The situation of retired pastors without a pension is one of the main issues that evangelicals have raised with the Spanish authorities in recent decades.
It has also attracted international attention, since the Spanish Evangelical Alliance requested the World Evangelical Alliance to raise the issue with the UN during its periodic reviews at the Human Rights Council in Geneva, where the Spanish government has repeatedly been called upon to honour its commitments and resolve this injustice.
You can read the full statement here (in Spanish)
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