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Those who were born in 1961 and turn 65 during 2026 and can retire if during this year they prove at least 38 years and 3 months of contributions. In the event of not reaching these years of contributions, the ordinary retirement age will be 67 years, that is, they will have to wait until 2028.
Thus, this is the first generation (those born in 1960) that encounters the definitive limit set by Law 27/2011, which regulates the retirement age in Spain. Until 2026 it was still possible to retire at 66 years and 10 months without having completed so many years of contributions, but those born in 1961 reach that age in 2027, just when the calendar jumps to the fixed 67 years for those who do not demonstrate 38 years and 6 months of contributions.
After 25 years working in his wife’s pharmacy he discovers that he was never discharged and cannot collect his pension: “I am still working at 78 years old”
Retirees who receive 3,003.94 euros per month as a Social Security pension
The difference between or not crossing that border of years of contributions is two more years of work and, depending on the applicable percentage, several hundred euros per month for life.
At what exact age do those born in 1961 retire?
The age to start collecting the pension will depend on the total number of years of contributions upon reaching age 65. In this table you can see what the ordinary age would be like:
| Years of contributions upon turning 65 (in 2026) | Ordinary retirement age | Retirement year | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38 years and 3 months or more | 65 years exactly | 2026 | DT 7th LGSS, table 2026 |
| Between 15 and 38 years and 3 months | 67 years | 2028 | DT 7th LGSS, stabilized table |
| Less than 15 years | Does not generate contributory pension | – | Art. 205.1.b LGSS |
It must be taken into account that the legal age is applied according to the year of the causative event (when retirement is requested), not according to the year of birth. Thus, anyone born in 1961 and who does not reach 38 years and 3 months of contributions by turning 65 will not be able to retire. The following year he will turn 66, but that age will no longer serve as ordinary, since if we look at the table, the law states that to retire at that time, 67 years of age is already required if 38 years and 6 months of contributions are not credited.
Therefore, as the legal bar moves, the next operational door for those born in 1961 without a complete career goes directly to the following year, when they finally reach the required 67 years of age.
How many years do you have to contribute to receive 100% of the pension?
To be entitled to the full or 100% pension it is necessary to be 36 years and six months of contributions, as established in transitional provision 9 of the General Social Security Law. The table for this year is the following:
| Years quoted | Percentage on regulatory basis |
|---|---|
| 15 years | 50% |
| 20 years | 62.38% |
| 25 years | 73.78% |
| 30 years | 85.18% |
| 35 years | 96.58% |
| 36 years and 6 months | 100% |
The scale is applied in two sections, based on the basis that with 15 years of contributions (which is the minimum) you are entitled to 50% of the regulatory base. The first 49 months above the minimum grace period of 15 years count at 0.21% each, and the following 209 months at 0.19% each, until 100% is exhausted (article 210 LGSS).
To understand it with figures and how it affects the pensioner’s pocket, with a regulatory base of 1,500 euros per month, a career of 25 years gives 1,106.70 euros, a career of 30 years gives 1,277.70 euros and a career of 36 years and 6 months gives the full 1,500 euros. The regulatory base is the average of the contribution bases of the last 25 years (300 months) divided by 350. It is the figure that comes from the payroll, not the net salary.
What happens if you do not reach 38 years and 3 months of contributions?
Two things can happen. The first is that you have to wait until you turn 67, which means retiring during 2028. The second is the percentage you receive of the pension, since if you are under 36 years and 6 months, 100% is not collected even if you have already reached the ordinary age. To take into account that, on the one hand, there is the retirement age and, on the other, the amount received as a pension.
Below the generic grace period of 15 years of contributions, you cannot access the ordinary contributory pension. In addition, the specific grace period must be met, which requires that at least 2 of those 15 years be included within the 15 years prior to the causative event (article 205.1.b LGSS). This second requirement is what knocks down many applications from people who stopped contributing early and never returned to the system.
Anyone who has less than 15 years of contributions has access to the non-contributory retirement pension, managed by IMSERSO and the autonomous communities, with amounts much lower than the minimum contributory amount. There is also the possibility of signing a special agreement with Social Security to continue contributing voluntarily and complete the deficiency, regulated in Order TAS/2865/2003.
At this point, the advice of experts such as Alfonso Muñoz Cuenca, a Social Security official, is to thoroughly review work life. The reason is the change in the partiality coefficient (working part-time or half-time), since with the entry of Royal Decree-Law 2/2023, every day registered counts 100% to complete the 15 years of generic waiting period and the 2 years of specific waiting period.
In this way, those who have chained partial contracts in their career manage to reach the legal age with fewer effective years, but they must take into account that the percentage applicable on the regulatory basis may still be far from 100%.
Can you access early retirement if you were born in 1961?
Yes, applying reducing coefficients. Access to this modality depends directly on who makes the decision to leave the labor market, dividing into two main routes regulated by the General Social Security Law.
Involuntary early retirement
This modality is applied when the exit from the labor market occurs due to a termination not attributable to the worker. This includes situations such as objective dismissal, collective dismissal, an ERE, a bankruptcy process, force majeure, or being a victim of gender violence or terrorism.
To qualify for this route, you must meet the following criteria:
- Minimum age: Up to 4 years before the corresponding ordinary age. If the ordinary age is 65 years, you can leave at 61; If the calendar sets 67, you can leave at 63.
- Minimum contribution required: 33 effective years of contributions.
- Prior registration: It is mandatory to register as a job seeker for at least 6 months prior to the date of the application.
- Reducing coefficient: A penalty is applied for each month or fraction advanced according to the scale of article 207.2 of the LGSS. With 4 years in advance, the reduction ranges between 24% and 30% depending on the degree; At 2 years old, it is between 12% and 15%.
Voluntary early retirement
For its part, this second modality comes into play when it is the worker himself who decides to leave the labor market of his own free will, without there being an objective cause for dismissal.
As it is a voluntary decision, the requirements are different and are as follows:
- Minimum age: Up to 2 years before the ordinary age. If the ordinary age set is 65 years, you can leave at 63; If you are 67 years old, the door opens at 65.
- Minimum contribution required: 35 effective years of contributions.
- Added requirement: The amount of the resulting pension, once the reducing coefficient has been applied, must necessarily exceed the minimum pension that would correspond to the beneficiary at 65 years of age.
- Reducing coefficient: A cut ranging from 3.26% to 21% is applied for each month in advance, applying the scale of article 208.2 of the LGSS based on the total months and years contributed.
Both modalities have cuts in the amount in percentage form. This percentage will depend on the modality, months ahead of the ordinary age and the total number of years of contributions (early retirement coefficients table).
An example to understand how these cuts affect. A worker born in 1961 with 38 years of contributions who loses his job due to an ERE at age 63 requests involuntary early retirement. The ordinary age that corresponds to him is 65 years, so he advances his retirement by 2 years (24 months). The scale of article 207.2 LGSS for careers between 36 years and 6 months and 38 years applies a coefficient of 0.38% per month in advance, which represents a total reduction of 9.12% on the regulatory base. With a regulatory base of 1,800 euros per month, the pension would be 1,635.84 euros per month instead of the 1,800 that would have corresponded to 65 with the same career. This reduction is for life, it is not recovered upon reaching ordinary age.
Minimum retirement pension in 2026
The minimum amounts are published in Royal Decree 39/2026, on pension revaluation, effective from January 1, 2026. The minimum amount for this year is as follows:
- Minimum contributory retirement pension (65 years or older):
- With dependent spouse: 1,256.60 euros per month (14 payments), 17,592.40 euros per year.
- Single-person (owner without spouse): 936.20 euros per month, 13,106.80 euros per year.
- With non-dependent spouse: 888.70 euros per month.
- Maximum system pension: 3,359.60 euros per month, 47,034.40 euros per year, according to article 3.1 of RD 39/2026.
If the calculated pension is below the minimum and the income and income limits are met, Social Security adds the minimum supplement until the guaranteed amount is reached (article 59 LGSS). If the calculated pension exceeds the limit, the maximum amount is applied.
As we have explained above, the amount depends on the regulatory base and the years of contributions in each case. To know the pension we will have left, Social Security has a simulator.