The current method of calculating the retirement pension depends on two variables, the contribution bases, which determine the regulatory base, and the total years worked, which sets the percentage applicable to that base. This second variable is where Social Security has introduced a specific improvement for discontinuous permanent workers. Since April 1, 2025, each day worked by these employees is multiplied by 1.5 for the purposes of accrediting the waiting period required to qualify for a retirement pension, as well as permanent disability and death and survival benefits.
This is regulated by article 247.2 of the General Social Security Law, after the reform under the Royal Decree-Law 11/2024which says that the entire period during which the worker has remained registered with a fixed-discontinuous contract will be computed, multiplied by a coefficient of 1.5, without the total number of days contributed annually being able to exceed the number of calendar days of each year, that is, 365.
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This coefficient of 1.5 serves two purposes, on the one hand, to accredit the period of generic and specific deficiencythat is, having a minimum of 15 years of contributions, of which at least two must be within the last 15 years of the causative event. On the other hand, article 248 LGSS also applies the coefficient on the calculation of the percentage applicable to the regulatory base.
That is, the more years you have contributed, the greater the percentage of the regulatory base you will be entitled to. The General Social Security Law establishes that with 15 years of contributions you have the right to 50% of the regulatory base and to have 100% right, you must be 36 years and six months old with contributions.
To better understand, a permanent discontinuous worker who has worked 200 days in the year will see 300 days counted as contributions (200 x 1.5), always within the limit of 365 annual calendar days. In this way, the worker is not penalized for the periods of inactivity inherent to his contract, in which he is discharged and does not accumulate effective contributions.
| Days actually worked per year | Days computed with the coefficient 1.5 |
|---|---|
| 100 | 150 |
| 150 | 225 |
| 200 | 300 |
| 240 | 360 |
| 250 or more | 365 (annual cap) |
Clarify that the 1.5 coefficient is only applied to prove the deficiency required in three benefits, which are retirement, permanent disability and death and survival. For this reason, temporary disability and childbirth and child care benefits are excluded.
Recovery of a prior right
The 1.5 coefficient had already been applied previously, but was eliminated by the Royal Decree-Law 2/2023, of March 16which equated the calculation of part-time and full-time contributions for the purposes of contributory benefits. That equalization benefited the group of part-time workers, but harmed discontinuous permanent workers, who saw their access to retirement delayed compared to an employee with a full-time contract.
With RDL 11/2024 this situation is corrected: the coefficient of 1.5 is once again applied, in this case only to discontinuous permanent workers. The measure develops the agreement closed in the Social Security and Pensions Social Dialogue Table on July 31, 2024.
There is, however, an important nuance. The 1.5 facilitates access to ordinary retirement and early retirement linked to the years of contributions, but it does not serve on its own to benefit from the Early partial retirement with relief contract. This has been made clear by the Supreme Court in STS 1272/2023 and in the ruling of April 29, 2024: discontinuous permanent workers do not count as full-time workers for Social Security purposes, and that continues to be an essential requirement for this type of retirement. Only those who prove a fully continuous contribution are exempt from the rule.