Eligibility for a pension
The state retirement pension in Spain is less universal than we often assume. So much so that there are a series of eligibility requirements that must be met in order to qualify for a contributory or even a non-contributory pension.
In reality, each type of Social Security pension imposes a series of eligibility conditions, because, after all, the coffers of the government and the National Social Security Institute (INSS in Spanish) are not infinite.
Knowing in advance the requirements for qualifying for a pension in its different forms is necessary when planning your retirement, as is knowing how much your pension will be. This way you will know when you can retire and under what conditions, depending on when you do it.
Conditions for a contributory retirement pension
There are three basic requirements to qualify for a contributory pension. You must:
Be affiliated and registered with the Social Security
You can be in the general scheme, in the Special Scheme for Self-Employed Workers (Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos; RETA) or a similar one. Situations of assimilated contributor status are also valid.
Have reached retirement age
To take normal retirement, you must be 66 years and four months old in 2023, although it is also possible to retire at the age of 65 under certain conditions, which we will see later.
This legal retirement age will gradually increase to 67 in 2027 as part of the roadmap that began in 2013.
| Year | Contribution periods | Age requirement |
| 2013 | 35 years and 3 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 35 years and 3 months | 65 years and 1 month | |
| 2014 | 35 years and 6 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 35 years and 6 months | 65 years and 2 months | |
| 2015 | 35 years and 9 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 35 years and 9 months | 65 years and 3 months | |
| 2016 | 36 years or more | 65 years |
| Less than 36 years | 65 years and 4 months | |
| 2017 | 36 years and 3 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 36 years and 3 months | 65 years and 5 months | |
| 2018 | 36 years and 6 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 36 years and 6 months | 65 years and 6 months | |
| 2019 | 36 years and 9 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 36 years and 9 months | 65 years and 8 months | |
| 2020 | 37 years or more | 65 years |
| Less than 37 years | 65 years and 10 months | |
| 2021 | 37 years and 3 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 37 years and 3 months | 66 years | |
| 2022 | 37 years and 6 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 37 years and 6 months | 66 years and 2 months | |
| 2023 | 37 years and 9 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 37 years and 9 months | 66 years and 4 months | |
| 2024 | 38 years or more | 65 years |
| Less than 38 years | 66 years and 6 months | |
| 2025 | 38 years and 3 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 38 years and 3 months | 66 years and 8 months | |
| 2026 | 38 years and 3 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 38 years and 3 months | 66 years and 10 months | |
| A partir de 2027 | 38 years and 6 months or more | 65 years |
| Less than 38 years and 6 months | 67 years |
Source: Seguridad Social
It is also possible to take early retirement. This can be obtained either two or four years before you reach normal retirement age, provided that you meet a series of conditions in terms of time contributed to the Social Security system and whether or not the reasons for retiring are voluntary.
Prove a minimum contribution payment period
As you have probably already guessed from the table above, in order to receive a contributory retirement pension, you must also have paid in a certain number of years of Social Security contributions.
Specifically, the minimum contribution period for entitlement to a contributory retirement pension is 15 years. There is also a second requirement: at least two of those years must have been contributed within the 15 years immediately prior to retirement.
If you pay in for that number of years you will be able to draw 50% of the regulatory base.
To get 100% you will have to have paid contributions for the period shown in the table above.
It is also possible to retire at the age of 65 if you have contributed for at least 37 years and 9 months in 2023 and two of those years are within the 15 years prior to retirement.
This period will also increase up to 2027, as shown in the table.
Eligibility requirements for pensions when no contributions have been paid
In contrast to a contributory pension, which depends on the length of time you have paid Social Security contributions, there is another pension model: the non-contributory pension.
This is a welfare pension and is designed for people who have not paid enough contributions to qualify for a normal retirement pension.
The minimum conditions that must be met to receive a non-contributory pension have to do with your income, and are as follows. You must:
- Be 65 or older.
- Be a resident in Spanish territory and have been for at least 10 years, of which two must be immediately prior to the date you apply for the benefit.
- Not be entitled to a contributory pension.
- Have no income or income that does not exceed a certain threshold.
The last section sets the maximum income that can be earned to qualify for non-contributory retirement benefits. This income depends on the economic cohabitation unit, namely the people who live with the person claiming this benefit.
The scale for 2023 is as follows:
- 6,784.54 euros per year for a person who lives alone.
- In case of cohabitation with a spouse or second-degree blood relatives (parents, grandparents, children, grandchildren and siblings)
No. of cohabitants €/year 2 11,533.72 € 3 16,282.90 € 4 21,032.08 € - If these relatives include parents or children, the amounts are increased:
No. of cohabitants €/Years 2 28,834.30 € 3 40,707.25 € 4 52,580.20 €
People who meet these requirements may request retirement, even if they have not contributed for sufficient years.
In addition, other retirement modalities, such as early retirement, flexible or active retirement, have their own conditions.