Self-employed workers continue to receive a significantly lower retirement pension than employees. According to the latest data analyzed by UPTA, while the average retirement pension in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) is 1,054.39 euros per month, in the General Regime (that of salaried workers) it is 1,724.11 euros, a difference of almost 670 euros per month and which represents 38.8% less.
These data have been obtained from retirement registrations and pension statistics for the last two years and, after analysis, this organization states that despite the progressive improvement in the amounts in the RETA, the difference between the pensions of self-employed workers and those of the General Regime continues to be very significant.
As of January 2026, the average total pension in the General Regime stood at 1,480.21 euros per month, while the average retirement pension reaches 1,724.11 euros. In comparison, the average total RETA pension, set at 951.24 euros, is 528.97 euros lower, which represents a gap of 35.7%. In the case of retirement, as has been noted, the difference amounts to 669.72 euros per month.
This gap, according to UPTA, is a consequence of decades of contributions for reduced bases and irregular contribution rates within self-employment. “Although the new contribution system based on real income can contribute to correcting future inequalities and strengthening the pensions of future generations, it will not solve the short-term differential accumulated in already recognized pensions,” they stated in a statement.
Retirements of the self-employed increase without generational change
UPTA has also warned of the “clear” acceleration in the pace of retirements in the RETA. In 2025, 64,267 retirement registrations were registered in this regime, compared to the 60,583 recorded in 2024, which represents 3,684 more retirements and a year-on-year increase of 6.08%. An increase that has been registered in both men and women.
In the case of men, retirements went from 38,986 in 2024 to 41,462 in 2025 (+2,476), while among women they increased from 21,597 to 22,805 (+1,208), “confirming that the acceleration of the pace of exit from the system generally affects the entire self-employed group.”
In January 2026, the RETA registered 2,017,800 total pensions, compared to 1,989,533 in January 2024, which is equivalent to 28,267 more net pensions in two years.
“An important part of these exits from the labor market are not finding continuity”
In this context, UPTA wanted to point out that “the real challenge is not only the increase in retirements, but also that an important part of these exits from the labor market are not finding continuity.” This lack of generational change, they indicate, especially affects local commerce, traditional hospitality, transportation, small professional services and activities linked to the rural environment.
“Each business that closes due to retirement without transmission implies loss of economic activity and employment, weakening of the local productive fabric and greater pressure on depopulation in numerous municipalities,” they have stated, demanding the implementation of a National Plan for Generational Relief in Self-Employment that facilitates the transmission of businesses, supports new entrepreneurs and guarantees the continuity of viable activities.
Eduardo Abad, president of the organization, has delved into this reality, pointing out that “the problem is not that the self-employed retire, but that thousands of small businesses will disappear in the coming years without any continuity”, concluding that “we are not just talking about the self-employed”, but that “we are talking about employment, services in the neighborhoods and economic activity in rural areas.”