Jeanne is a 63-year-old retiree, but a few months ago she was an operating room nurse in a public hospital in the Doubs region, France. Now, he wanted to tell what his economic situation is like after more than 40 years and decades dedicated to public health. “My current pension is around 2,000 euros per month, an amount that I consider reasonable, although it is about 800 euros less than my last salary,” he explains. A reduction that, as he admits, “surprised me, because many of the bonuses he received are not taken into account in the retirement calculation.”
This retiree managed to retire at 62 years and 3 months, since since she started working at age 20, this has allowed her to have enough contributions to retire at that age (The retirement age in France does not work in the same way in Spain). Specifically, he accumulated 169 quarters of contributions, which allows him to enjoy 100% of the pension.
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Jeanne worked her entire life in the public health system, first as a general nurse and later as a scrub nurse (IBODE). Although he recognizes that his profession brought him great personal satisfaction, he admits that the last few years were difficult. “In the end, I didn’t want to work anymore Lefigaro. The irregular schedules, the lack of staff and the pressure from management exhausted me,” he explains, recalling that he managed to “endure the days” despite continuing to feel a vocation for caring for patients.
When he retired he received 800 euros less pension
Like most public sector nurses, Jeanne contributed to the National Pension Fund for Local Government Employees (CNRACL) and also to the Additional Pension Scheme for Public Servants (RAFP). In the last years of his career, his salary improved a lot, so much so that before retiring he earned about 3,600 euros gross per month, which was equivalent to 2,880 euros net.
In addition, he received various complementary bonuses, including the Veil bonus (90 euros), the Ségur bonus, the collective commitment bonus and the extra Christmas pay. Altogether, these supplements added between 400 and 500 euros per month, which placed their average income at around 3,380 euros net per month.
A blow to your pension
Both this nurse and her husband, who worked as an administrator in the private sector, took advantage of those years of economic stability to buy a home, travel and help their children. Despite this, upon reaching his retirement age in November 2024, his income dropped significantly. “It was a real shock to see how much I lost,” Jeanne admits. The main reason, he explains, is that bonuses are not included in the pension calculation, which caused his pension to drop by around 800 euros per month compared to his last salary.
As we have said, right now, Jeanne receives just over 2,000 euros per month in pension. Despite the decrease, she is satisfied with her situation. “I’m glad I specialized as an operating room nurse; that increased my salary when I needed it most and now allows me to live comfortably,” she concludes calmly.
How Much Does a Nurse Earn in Spain
In Spain, a nurse (with a university degree and who works in public health) earns, on average, between 2,000 euros and 2,500 euros gross per month (not counting shifts or holidays), although this amount is highly variable and depends fundamentally on the Autonomous Community where one works and the salary supplements.
Nurses who work in public hospitals or health centers belong to Group A2 of the Administration, so their monthly base salary is 1,124.85 euros (data updated for 2024, in 14 payments).
Important complements are added to this figure according to:
- Destiny (Destiny Plugin).
- The specialty or type of position (Specific Complement due to difficulty, responsibility or hardship).
- Years of experience (Trienniums and Professional Career).
- Carrying out guards, night shifts or holidays, which significantly increase the final salary.