To retire in Spain in 2026, you need to have contributed at least 15 years to Social Security, two of them within the 15 years prior to retirement, and reach ordinary age. This minimum gives the right to 50% of the regulatory base. To collect 100% of the pension, in 2026 36 years and 6 months of contributions are required; In 2027 the figure will rise to 37 years, according to the ninth transitional provision of the General Social Security Law (LGSS).
This requirement of years of contributions to collect the full or 100% pension comes from the pension reform, regulated in Law 27/2011, and which began to be implemented in 2013. In this way, the required contributions are increased every few years, until 2027, when the end of the reform will come and it will be necessary to have contributed for 37 years.
What is the minimum deficiency to be entitled to a pension?
Social Security requires two types of minimum contribution to recognize a contributory retirement pension:
- Generic grace period: 15 years of contributions throughout your entire working life. It is the entry threshold to the system. Without this minimum, a contributory pension cannot be collected, although a non-contributory pension can be accessed if the income requirements are met.
- Specific deficiency: at least 2 years of contributions within the 15 years immediately prior to the causative event (the date of retirement). This condition prevents someone who worked alone in his youth and from never again being able to generate the right to a pension.
Both deficiencies are counted in actual days of contributions, without multiplying by 1.4 as was the case before the 2013 reform (that is, those who contributed part-time or part-time). Nor are the contribution gaps integrated to check whether those 15 minimum years are reached; They only serve to calculate the regulatory base once the right is confirmed.
What age is required in 2026?
The ordinary age depends directly on the years of contributions. In 2026, two thresholds remain in force:
- 65 years old, if 38 years and 3 months or more of contributions are proven
- 66 years and 10 months, if contributions have been made for less than 38 years and 3 months
This calendar follows the seventh transitional provision of the LGSS and will stabilize at 67 years starting in 2027 for those who do not reach 38 years and 6 months of contributions. Those who have completed their career will be able to retire at age 65 indefinitely.
How is the pension percentage calculated according to the years of contributions?
The regulatory base is 100% of the pension to which one is entitled based on the years of contributions. That is, the more years the higher the percentage, so that at 15 years old, 50% is charged and as we add months, a percentage will be added, until reaching 100%, which is at 36 years and 6 months. The scale in 2026 is distributed like this:
| Years contributed | Percentage of the regulatory base |
|---|---|
| 15 years | 50% |
| 20 years | 62.38% |
| 25 years | 73.78% |
| 30 years | 85.18% |
| 35 years | 96.58% |
| 36 years and 6 months or more | 100% |
Between 15 and 36 years and 6 months, each month of contributions adds a specific percentage to the pension. According to the scale of the new transitional provision of the LGSS applicable in 2026, the first 49 additional months count at 0.21% and the following 209, at 0.19%. The application is automatic: the INSS calculates the exact percentage based on the actual days quoted.
An example. A worker who reaches 65 years of age with 30 years of contributions and a regulatory base of 1,600 euros per month will earn 85.18% of that amount, around 1,363 euros. If you last three more years and add 33 years of contributions, the percentage rises to 92.02% and the pension goes to around 1,472 euros. Each year of additional contributions before reaching the limit of 36 years and 6 months translates, roughly speaking, into 35-40 euros more per month for the rest of life.
What happens if you have contributed for more than 36 years and 6 months?
In 2026, contributing above the 100% limit does not increase the pension if you retire at the ordinary age. The maximum pension (which is not the same as 100%) is covered by the regulatory base and 100% of the applicable percentage. The only way to earn more above that reference is to delay retirement beyond the ordinary age and take advantage of delayed retirement. Since the entry into force of Royal Decree-Law 11/2024 on April 1, 2025, the incentive for each full year of delay can be an additional percentage of 4% on the regulatory base, a single lump sum or a combination of both, at the option of the pensioner according to article 210.2 of the LGSS.
For those who already have a completed career, the decision involves assessing whether it is worth continuing to work only for the delay supplement or if you prefer to retire with 100% and opt for active retirement (article 214 of the LGSS) if you want to continue collecting a salary later.
Can you complete the quote if you are missing years?
When you do not reach 15 years of contributions by reaching the ordinary age, there are several legal ways to complete your career and have the right to a contributory pension:
- Special agreement with Social Security: allows you to continue contributing voluntarily by paying the fee to the RETA or the General Regime after the employment relationship has expired. It is the most common route when there are only a few years left to complete the grace period.
- Registration as self-employed (RETA): contribute as a self-employed worker with a base sufficient to add up the remaining months.
- Recognition of non-contributed periods: periods of leave for childcare add up to 3 years of contributions as effective contributions, in accordance with article 237 of the LGSS. Compulsory military service or substitute social benefit counts up to 1 year only for the purpose of achieving the specific waiting period required for early retirement, in accordance with articles 207.1.c) and 208.1.b) of the LGSS.
- Maternity and childcare benefits: article 235 of the LGSS recognizes 112 full days of assimilated contributions for each birth of a single child (14 days more for each additional child in multiple births) for those born or adopted after 1995. In addition, article 236 of the LGSS allows up to 270 days to be computed per child when the mother or father interrupts their working career to care for the minor.
Contributions made outside the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the United Kingdom or countries with a bilateral agreement do not add up; In these cases, the corresponding international regulations apply, which allows totaling periods for legal purposes but not always for calculation purposes.
How many years do you have to contribute to retire early?
Early retirement requires more years of contributions than ordinary retirement. The scale, effective in 2026, is as follows:
| Mode | Minimum years of contributions | Minimum age in 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Voluntary early retirement | 35 years | 2 years before the ordinary age (63 years in the best case) |
| Involuntary early retirement | 33 years | 4 years before the ordinary age (61 years in the best case) |
| Early partial retirement | 33 years (25 if disability ≥33%) | From the age of 63 with a relief contract |
In all cases, reducing coefficients are applied that penalize the pension for life. For voluntary advance payment, the penalty ranges from 3.26% to 21% depending on the months in advance and the years of contributions; for the involuntary it is less.
How do you know exactly how many years you have contributed?
The quickest way is to consult the work life report at the Social Security electronic headquarters. It is obtained instantly with a digital certificate, Cl@ve or Cl@ve Móvil, and also by SMS if the mobile number appears in the INSS database. The document includes all the registrations and cancellations by regime, days of contributions and companies that were visited.
If you detect a period that does not appear in your working life and you remember having contributed, you can request a rectification by providing payroll, contracts or company certificates. Social Security has 3 months to respond. This procedure is especially important before requesting retirement, because the days skipped can make the difference between 98% and 100% of the pension.