The criteria for updating the maintenance allowance must, from the outset, to be provided in the Regulation for the Exercise of Parental Responsibilities, whether this is fixed by agreement or by court order.

The most commonly used criteria is, the inflation calculated for the year prior to the one that respects the update.

Therefore, the first step will be to analyze the text of the agreement or court decision (if the maintenance allowance has been fixed by the court).

As a rule, whenever the pension is fixed by court decision, an annual and automatic updating criterion is established, usually through the inflation index verified in the year prior to the update (INE) – as it is the one that best guarantees that the real pension value has remained constant over the years.

How do I calculate the update?

The calculation formula for determining the amount of the monthly increase in the maintenance allowance is: maintenance allowance x index of the inflation value.

So, for example, if you want to update a maintenance allowance in 2020, you must first determine the inflation rate in 2019.

Now, according to data provided by the National Statistics Institute (INE), the consumer price index (IPC) for 2019 is set at 0.3%.

Thus, in practical terms, a maintenance pension wich it’s fixed amount is € 200.00 per month, will be increased to € 200.60, depending on the update calculated using the inflation index.