Partial retirement allows you to reduce your working hours by between 25% and 75% and collect the proportional part of the pension before or upon reaching ordinary age. From April 1, 2025, after the entry into force of the Royal Decree-Law 11/2024the modality that is requested when reaching the ordinary age no longer requires a replacement contract, and the early one can be brought forward up to 3 years (previously it was 2). This type of retirement is regulated in the article 215 of the General Law of Social Security (LGSS).
Partial retirement is one of the three ways that Social Security allows for make work and pension compatiblealong with active and flexible retirement. The difference is that here the worker continues in his position with reduced hours, he does not retire 100%. The 2024 reform, agreed with the CCOO and UGT unions, expanded the maximum reduction in working hours from 50% to 75% and eliminated the obligation to hire a reliever when the request is made at ordinary age. This modality can be positive, since “it has advantages for workers” as explained by Alfonso Muñoz Cuenca, a Social Security official.
What exactly is partial retirement?
Partial retirement allows you to continue working and start collecting part of your pension at the same time. That is, the worker reduces his working hours with the agreement of the company and begins to have two incomes: the salary for the hours he maintains and the part of the pension corresponding to the time he stops working.
For example, if you reduce your hours by half, you will receive 50% of your usual salary and 50% of the pension that you would receive if you retired completely. Later, when you reach the ordinary retirement age and stop working permanently, you will collect 100% of the pension that corresponds to you, taking into account your entire working life, including the contributions made during that stage of partial retirement.
Royal Decree-Law 11/2024 distinguishes two modalities, depending on the age at which it is requested.
What are the requirements for early partial retirement (with relief contract)?
To access this modality and advance the retirement age up to a maximum of three years, it is necessary for the company to hire a reliever to cover the released hours. Additionally, these requirements must be met:
- Age: up to 3 years before the ordinary age. In 2026 that age is 65 years (with 38 years and 3 months or more of contributions) or 66 years and 10 months (with less than 38 years and 3 months), so the most favorable access is at 62 years.
- Minimum contribution: 33 years of actual contributions, or 25 years if a disability equal to or greater than 33% is proven.
- Seniority in the company: at least 6 years immediately prior to the date of partial retirement.
- Reduction of working hours: between 25% and 75%. If the anticipation exceeds 2 years, the first year the reduction must be between 20% and 33%; From the second year onwards it is possible to reach 75%.
- Mandatory replacement contract, with an indefinite nature and full time, signed with an unemployed worker or with a temporary contract in the company itself.
What are the requirements for partial retirement without a relief contract?
With Royal Decree-Law 11/2024, it brings a novelty and is applied when the worker has already reached the ordinary retirement age and decides to stay in the company with reduced hours. Since there is no anticipation, no relief is required. The requirements in this case are:
- Have reached the ordinary retirement age
- Meet the general requirements to qualify for a retirement pension (15 years of contributions, 2 of them in the last 15)
- Reduce the working day between 25% and 75%
- There is no minimum seniority requirement in the company
This modality suits those who reach the legal age and prefer a gradual withdrawal without the company having to hire a substitute.
What is the relief contract and how does it work?
The relief contract is the employment contract that the company signs with another worker to cover the day left vacant by the partial retiree. From April 2025, these conditions must be met:
- It must be indefinite and full time.
- The reliever must be unemployed or have a fixed-term contract with the same company.
- The contribution base of the reliever cannot be less than 65% of the average of the contribution bases of the partial retiree during the previous 6 months.
- The contract must be maintained for at least 2 years after the partial retirement ends (when the relieved person retires at 100%).
If the company fails to comply with these conditions (fires the reliever early, does not replace him after a sick leave, reduces his working hours), Social Security may demand the return of amounts unduly paid and sanction the company. The Supreme Court confirmed in 2024 that The partial retirement pension is only collected from the signing of the replacement contractnot from the date of application.
How much is paid with partial retirement?
The pension is first calculated as if the worker retired at 100%, with its regulatory base and the years of contributions proven. The percentage of reduced working hours is applied to this theoretical amount. An example of the calculation would be the following:
| Reduced working day | Salary collected | Pension collected | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 25% | 75% of salary | 25% of the pension | Approximate to previous salary |
| 50% | 50% of salary | 50% of the pension | Approximate to previous salary |
| 75% | 25% of salary | 75% of the pension | Less than previous salary |
If a worker’s salary was 2,000 euros and his calculated pension would be 1,800 euros, with a 50% reduction he would receive 1,000 euros of salary plus 900 euros of pension, that is, 1,900 euros per month. Contributions during the partial period are counted as if the worker had been full-time for the purposes of calculating the final pension, thanks to the contribution fiction included in article 215 of the LGSS.
Partial retirement is incompatible with the minimum supplement, as is the case with active retirement. Nor can it be made compatible with the total permanent disability pension in the same position, except in very limited cases.
How do you request partial retirement?
The application must be submitted to the National Social Security Institute either through its Electronic Office (digital certificate or Cl@ve is required) or in person at the Social Security offices. In either way, it is necessary to present this documentation:
- DNI or equivalent
- Company certificate with the agreed reduction in working hours
- Copy of the relief contract registered in the SEPE (only advance modality)
- Updated work life report
- Official partial retirement application form
Social Security has a period of 90 days from the request. If you do not respond within that period, the request is deemed to have been denied due to administrative silence, so it is possible to file a prior claim within 30 days and, later, the claim before the Social Court.
What happens if the conditions are breached after partial retirement?
If the worker or the company fails to meet any of the requirements (the reliever is fired and not replaced, the retiree’s actual working day exceeds what was agreed upon, it is linked to another undeclared activity), the INSS can declare the loss of the right and demand the return of the amounts paid.
The amount claimed can reach thousands of euros if the irregularity drags on for years. That is why it is advisable to communicate any change (prolonged medical leave, leave of absence, new contract) to Social Security before it is detected in a data cross-check. The INSS telephone service office is 901 16 65 65 and 915 41 02 91 for those calling from a mobile phone.