Social rejection of any extension of the legal retirement age is massive. A Funcas survey reveals that opposition to delaying the retirement age to 70 is widespread, reaching 96% among women aged 18 to 30 and 83% among men. Now, this perception clashes head-on with the observed trend and the projections of the main analysis organizations, since Spaniards are increasingly delaying their retirement voluntarily.
According to the report published by the Foundation for Applied Economics Studies (Fedea), the effects of the pension reform (which are Law 21/2021 and Royal Decree 2/2023), estimates that 33.5% of Spaniards born in the 2000s (known as Generation Z) will voluntarily extend their working life beyond the age of 67. In fact, the vast majority (29.8%) would do so even after turning 70.
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This long-term projection, which looks to the 2060s, is consistent with the calculations of the Independent Authority for Fiscal Responsibility (AIReF). In its latest opinion on sustainability, AIReF estimated that up to 30% of new retirement registrations in 2035 will be delayed.
A trend already visible
The Social Security data shows a change in behavior, since after years of stagnating below 5%, delayed retirements experienced a first jump in 2022 (coinciding with the reform that incentivized 4% each year the retirement age was delayed), grew to 8.1% in 2023, 9.3% in 2024 and, according to the latest data from August 2025, they already represent the 11.3% of new registrations.
On the other hand, it is visible how early retirements have been decreasing, which have gone from being 39% of those registered in 2021 to only 27.2% in August 2025. The 2022 reform penalized this modality (changing the reducing coefficients from quarterly to monthly in the voluntary ones and applying a new coefficient to the regulatory bases above the maximum amount), and Fedea estimates that its weight will fall to 23.7% for Generation Z. Even so, AIReF warns that the savings expected from this combination of factors could be neutralized by the cost of the economic incentives paid for delaying retirement.
Concern, but ignorance
The context of this apparent contradiction is the lack of financial culture and the profound ignorance of the public pension system. The Funcas survey reveals that, although 67% of Spaniards are “very or quite concerned” that their pension is not enough, the majority have a misconception about the reality of the system.
Only one in eight adults (one in six men and one in 14 women) knows how pensions are financed and has a rough idea of the average benefit. In fact, two thirds of those surveyed (66%) underestimate the amount of the average retirement, erroneously placing it below the Minimum Interprofessional Salary (SMI), when in reality it is higher.
Experts also point out that perceptions about work change with age. The same Funcas survey indicates that, although young people en masse reject extending their working life, 29% of those who are already retired are in favor of returning to some type of occupation.