Sometimes, behind a number there is a whole life. Tomás Ramírez’s started very early: “I started working when I was 13 and a half years old using a triptych for minors and until I was 14 they didn’t start paying contributions for me,” he confesses in Asjubi40.
Today, after more than six decades of life, after having contributed for 48 and a half years, “and some more in double contributions,” he faces a reality that, according to him, “is a disproportionate injustice.” They apply a permanent 13% cut to their pension for having retired early.
The truth is that Tomás does not complain with resentment, but rather he appears disappointed and very tired. “We workers who have contributed for more than 40 years have supported the public system for an entire working life, and yet, many of us continue to suffer permanent penalties,” he says.
This is not an isolated case. There are thousands of workers who, upon retiring, have found that, after a life dedicated to work, the system turns its back on them just when they should rest.
Spain: a country of retirees
Spain is experiencing a historic moment in terms of retirement. According to the latest official data from the beginning of 2026, there are about 9.4 million pensioners in our country. In total, around 10.4 million pensions are paid, since many people receive more than one benefit.
The average retirement pension is around 1,363 euros per month and the State allocates more than 13.7 billion euros per month to maintain this essential pillar of the welfare state. But behind these numbers lies an even greater challenge: the aging of the population.
Although the number of retirees increases every year, fewer and fewer contributors are contributing, which causes constant tension in the balance of the system. It is precisely here where they ask that measures such as penalties for early retirement be defended as necessary for the sustainability of public accounts, even when many are against it.
The truth is that retirement is recognition of decades of effort. It is not a gift, but a right that guarantees stability and quality of life after working for so many years.
But when the rules leave this feeling of punishment, retirees “demand that the Government urgently approve a Royal Decree that eliminates these penalties for those who prove long contributions periods.”
“We have supported the public system for a lifetime and we continue to suffer penalties”
The reason for these reductions is found in the so-called ‘reducing coefficients’. If someone retires before 66 years and 10 months, except for those over 38 years of contributions, the law applies a percentage discount that is maintained for life.
And the official argument given is purely economic: those who retire earlier earn for longer and stop contributing sooner, which represents an ‘imbalance’ in the system. However, for workers like Tomás, who began contributing even before reaching the age of majority, this reasoning sounds unfair: “We have supported the system for a lifetime and we deserve a dignified retirement, without eternal penalties.”