The permanent disability pensions They are economic benefits that have the objective of protecting workers who, after receiving treatment, present serious anatomical or functional reductions that reduce or nullify their work capacity. Now, the General Social Security Law explains that, if the worker has already reached his retirement age and is entitled to it, Social Security will not grant him permanent disability due to a common illness.
This is so, since this is stated in article 195.1 of the General Social Security Law (which can be consulted in this BOE), where it explains that the right to a permanent disability pension will not be recognized when they arise from common contingencies, provided that the beneficiary, on the date of the causative event, is of the expected age for retirement and meets the requirements to access this pension.
In this way, those workers who exceed their ordinary retirement age, which requires having reached 67 years or 65 years if they have 38 years and 6 months of contributions (although in 2026 they will temporarily be 66 years and 10 months with less than 38 years and 3 months of contributions), and have covered the minimum contribution period of 15 years, will have to process their ordinary retirement instead of going through the Medical Court to seek a disability.
You cannot access permanent disability if you can already retire
The law explains that upon reaching the ordinary retirement age and meeting the minimum contribution period, Social Security understands that the work stage has ended, so the worker must move towards retirement. Therefore, if you suffer from a common pathology or illness from that moment on, Social Security will no longer recognize your right to permanent disability, since you have already reached retirement age.
Now, like every rule, there is an exception, and that is that the law itself specifies that this prohibition applies to permanent disability “derived from common contingencies.” In other words, if a worker of retirement age suffers a disability due to a work accident or an occupational disease, he or she could request and obtain recognition of a permanent disability, since the legal limitation does not expressly include professional contingencies.
A practical example
To understand how reaching the age affects our request, we can use the following practical example. Let’s imagine a worker aged 66 years and 10 months who suffers a heart attack or a serious non-work illness that nullifies his ability to work. This worker has 35 years of contributions.
If, on the date of the causative event, you request permanent disability due to a common illness from the INSS, it will be automatically denied based on article 195.1, since you have reached your ordinary retirement age and more than meet the minimum requirement of 15 years of contributions. For practical purposes, what this worker must do is request his ordinary lifetime retirement pension, which is the one that legally corresponds to him when he stops working.
Difference between common and professional contingencies at the end of working life
Finally, it is important to distinguish between the origin of the contingency that prevents us from working. While a common illness (or a non-occupational accident) has the age and ordinary retirement requirements as the deadline to achieve disability, the Law allows an extraordinary route for professional contingencies.
The regulations establish that the age restriction and retirement requirements only expressly apply to permanent disability derived from common contingencies. Therefore, unless it is an occupational disease or work accident, once the legal retirement age line has been crossed with the requirements met, the benefit is consolidated and becomes a lifelong right under the retirement modality, providing the legal and economic security necessary for old age.