About 25,000 rally in Madrid to defend Spain's state pensions

Marchers in Madrid

25,000 people

Protesters marched from Atocha station to the Gran Vía on Saturday, before next month's general election.

Demonstrators want pensions to stay indexed to inflation and the gender pension gap to be eliminated.

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accuses the Popular Party of planning to weaken inflation-linked increases. Its leader says he would keep raising pensions with inflation.

Monthly pension bill

14.5 billion euros

Spain's monthly pension bill hit a record this year, as an ageing population and a falling ratio of workers to pensioners put pressure on the system.