Contributory pensions are those that are accessed when a minimum contribution has been made to Social Security. In the case of the retirement pension, it is necessary to have a minimum of 15 years throughout your working life, but this is not the only requirement. You must also prove a minimum of two years (730 days) within the last fifteen years before the causative event, which is generally when the pension is requested upon reaching the retirement age.
This is stated in article 205.b of the General Law of Social Securitywhich establishes that it is necessary to “have covered a minimum contribution period of fifteen years, of which at least two must be included within the fifteen years immediately preceding the moment the right accrues.” And furthermore, the aforementioned article adds: “The proportional part corresponding to the extraordinary payments will not be taken into account.”
Two retirees forced to live for 7 months in their car and use the changing rooms of a swimming pool to shower: “It can happen to any middle-class worker”
Several retirees over 80 years of age speak clearly: “I am expecting my first great-granddaughter in January. I would like to see her. I will die with a smile but with sadness”
This means that if a worker contributes for 30 years, but the last fifteen years before his retirement age are blank, Social Security will deny him the pension. That is to say, although we have consolidated the generic deficiency, the specific deficiency is not met, so you will not have the right to the pension. This forces us to work beyond ordinary age if we want to comply with this requirement and collect the non-contributory pension.
The ordinary retirement age in Spain is set in 2026 at 65 years for those who have contributed contributions for 38 years and 3 months or more and at 66 years and 10 months for those who have contributed less than 38 years and 3 months. This changes in 2027; Contributions will be increased by three months to retire at age 65, which in the case of not reaching age will be established at 67 years. This is the ordinary age, but not mandatory. In fact, there is no mandatory age to stop working, except in exceptional cases.
Involuntary early retirement as the only option
Social Security allows you to retire without meeting the specific deficiency through involuntary early retirement. This modality allows you to retire up to four years before the ordinary age, but in exchange it requires having a minimum of 33 years of contributions, that the termination is preceded by a situation beyond the control of the worker (such as a dismissal or an ERE) and that the worker has been registered as a job seeker for at least six months.
Furthermore, as we enjoyed the pension before, Social Security will cut the amount of the resulting pension up to 30%, as stated in article 207.2 of the LGSS and which can be consulted in the table of reducing coefficients for involuntary early retirement. Finally, this cut is for life, but allows you to retire when the door to ordinary retirement is closed.