Spain retirement 2027: 37 years of contributions for a full pension and an ordinary age of 67

The retirement pension is calculated by applying a percentage, which depends on years of contributions, to the base reguladora (pension calculation base). The first 15 years give 50%, and every month contributed beyond those 15 years adds a further percentage that the ninth transitional provision of the Ley General de la Seguridad Social has been adjusting since 2013.

From 2023 to 2026, each of months 1 to 49 beyond the first 15 years adds 0.21% and each of the next 209 adds 0.19%, so 100% is reached with 36 years and 6 months of contributions. From 2027 the permanent scale in article 210.1 applies: 0.19% for each month from 1 to 248 and 0.18% for each of the following 16. A full 100% then requires 37 years of contributions.

The age timetable also ends. Under the seventh transitional provision, in 2026 the ordinary age is 66 years and 10 months, or 65 with at least 38 years and 3 months contributed. From 2027 it will be 67, or 65 with at least 38 years and 6 months contributed.

Applying both scales in the Act, with 35 years of contributions the percentage goes from 96.58% in 2026 to 95.60% in 2027; with 36 years, from 98.86% to 97.84%; and with 36 years and 6 months, from 100% to 98.92%. With 37 years or more, the pension is 100% in both cases.

The gap is not limited to people close to 37 years. Anyone with between 19 years and 1 month and just under 37 years of contributions gets at least 0.98 points less in 2027, and the maximum loss, 1.08 points, occurs at 36 years and 6 months. Between 15 years and 19 years and 1 month the gap is smaller, and at exactly 15 years there is none.

In euros, the effect depends on each person's pension base. As an example, 1.08 points on a pension base of 2,000 euros means about 21.60 euros less in each pension payment.

What counts is the date of the hecho causante (qualifying event). Article 3 of Real Decreto 453/2022 (Royal Decree) provides that the retirement pension is treated as arising on the date the applicant states in the application, provided they meet the requirements on that date.

For someone registered and working, whether employed or as an autónomo (self-employed worker), the pension arises on the day they leave the relevant Social Security scheme because they stop working. So, for the 2026 scale and age to apply, that deregistration must take place on 31 December 2026 at the latest, and the person must already meet the age and other requirements on that date.

It is only an option for people who already meet the required age and other conditions in 2026. Anyone reaching the ordinary age in 2027 cannot bring ordinary retirement forward, and early retirement applies reduction coefficients that must be calculated separately.

The comparison is not just about the percentage. The pension base also changes in 2027: the 304 highest monthly contribution bases from the last 308 months are added up and divided by 354.67, compared with the 302 highest bases from the last 304 months divided by 352.33 in 2026 (fortieth transitional provision). During the transitional period, the Seguridad Social (Social Security) compares that result with the previous calculation and applies whichever is more favourable.

In addition, anyone who keeps working beyond the ordinary age, having completed the minimum contribution period by then, is entitled to a deferral supplement, for example an extra 4% for each full year contributed (article 210.2). That is why it makes sense to compare the pension amount for each date before deciding.