One week before the elections to the Parliament of Andalusia on May 17, 2026, the group of early retirees with long contributions careers has decided to turn the Andalusian ballot boxes into their latest pressure tool. Manolo Galán, member of the Early Retirement Without Penalty Association (ASJUBI40), has published a video in which he addresses the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, to demand that he apply the motion approved by the Congress of Deputies on November 13 and suppress the reducing coefficients that cut the pension for life for those who have contributed for 40 years or more.
Manolo Galán speaks in the first person and knows first-hand the injustice he denounces. He is 63 years old, has contributed for more than 46, and remains involuntarily retired early after being forced to retire early. It carries a reducing coefficient of 21% that is applied in perpetuity to the amount of your pension, both in ordinary monthly payments and in extraordinary payments.
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In a video broadcast through ASJUBI40 already He reported that he is “penalized for life” despite his 46 years of contributionsa grievance that he shares with a good part of the baby boom generation, that is, workers who began contributing at a very young age and who, despite easily overcoming the period necessary to access 100% of the pensionthey see how the system punishes them for having retired before the ordinary age.
The plenary session of Congress supported the motion, presented by the Podemos Parliamentary Group, with 180 votes in favor, 170 abstentions and no votes against. The initiative, which includes the historical demand of ASJUBI40, was supported by PSOE, Sumar, ERC, Junts, Bildu, PNV, BNG, Canary Coalition, UPN and Compromís, while PP and Vox abstained. The vote is a step towards decriminalization of early retirements with more than 40 years of contributions that the association has been promoting for almost a decade.
In the new video, Galán asks the head of the Executive a direct question: “Where is that document, is it so deep that he cannot bring it out to resolve this injustice, this life sentence that we pensioners are suffering?”
The pensioner regrets that “many colleagues are being left behind” and warns that the group has a forceful electoral argument: “Now we have votes here in Andalusia and we are more than 100,000 affected with our corresponding families, friends, colleagues and acquaintances.” His message culminates with a clear dilemma and it is “justice or votes.”
The motion is not binding and Minister Saiz has already ruled out the reform
Despite parliamentary support, the motion does not have a legislative nature, so it does not force the Executive to modify the General Social Security Law. The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, ruled out days before the vote any reform to eliminate reducing coefficients in long contribution periods.
ASJUBI40 also has two bills pending debate in Congress and a second complaint before the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament, where it maintains that the Spanish regulations violate the principle of proportionality and Directive 2000/78 on equal treatment in employment.
The association’s claim involves modifying articles 207 and 208 of Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, which approves the consolidated text of the General Social Security Law, to eliminate any reduction when the worker proves at least 40 years of contributions, both in the form of Voluntary and involuntary early retirement. Currently, the cuts can reach 30% on the regulatory basis and are applied for life on ordinary monthly payments and extraordinary payments.
Antonio Matinero, president of ASJUBI40, already pointed out after the vote that “the only person responsible for this injustice is the PSOE and the Government”, which he called on to develop the law that eliminates the penalties. With the motion approved and the Andalusian appointment set for May 17, the group, which brings together nearly 900,000 pensioners throughout Spain, transfers the pressure of the ballot box to the Executive: either it fulfills the mandate of Congress or it will assume an electoral cost in a strategic community.