Amount

The amount of pension granted is determined by applying the general percentage  according to the number of years contributed to BP and, if applicable, the additional percentage for prolonging their working life, when retiring above the ordinary retirement age at any time and the applicable reduction quotient.

As of the year 2022, the retirement pension base rate will be the quotient resulting from dividing the interested party’s contribution bases by 350 during the 300 months immediately preceding the month before the causal event of the pension.

If the interested party has access to a retirement pension from registration as an active contributor or assimilated status without having to make contributions, the period that determines the base rate (BR) cannot be taken back to the time when the obligation to contribute finished.

For people to whom the legislation prior to 01/01/2013 is applicable by virtue of temporary provision four of the General Law on Social Security, the base rate will be the quotient produced by dividing the interested party’s contribution bases during the 180 months immediately preceding the month prior to the causal event by 210.

Updating of the contribution bases:

The contribution bases of the 24 months immediately preceding the month prior to the causal event are taken at their nominal value.

The other contribution bases are updated according to the evolution of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) from the month said bases correspond to the month immediately preceding the one when the period referred to in the previous paragraph begins.

Gap Integration:

If the period which has to be used to calculate the BP contains months during which contribution is not mandatory, the  first  48  months  will enter the calculation at the minimum base of those existing at each time, and the other monthly figures will be entered at 50% of said minimum base.

For those persons for whom the legislation applicable is that prior to 01/01/2013 by virtue of temporary provision four of the General Law on Social Security, for the purposes of said calculation, gaps in contribution will be integrated by entering the minimum contribution basis in force at any time in the General System for workers over the age of 18.

When there are some months where there was only an obligation to contribute during part of the month, the part during which there was no obligation to contribute shall be integrated as indicated in the previous paragraphs, provided that the Contribution Basis for the first period does not reach the minimum monthly basis specified. In this case, the integration will be increased up to this latter amount.

In the case of workers included in the Special system for domestic employees, from 2012 to 2023, only the periods actually contributed will be taken into account (with no gap integration) to calculate the retirement pension BP.

In the case of workers included in the Special scheme for agricultural workers employed by another person, from 01/01/2012 onwards, only the periods actually contributed will be used to calculate the BR (Gap Integration does not apply).

For part time, relief and intermittent permanent contracts, it must be taken into account that:

• The integration of the periods during which there has been no obligation to contribute will be carried out using the minimum Contribution Basis from those applicable at any time for the number of hours contracted on the date on which the obligation to contribute was interrupted. If an individual is only required to contribute for a portion of a month, the part of the month for which he or she is not required to contribute will be integrated, as long as the relevant contribution basis does not reach the minimum basis amount indicated.
  
• With the exception of periods between seasons or campaigns for workers on an Intermittent - Permanent Employee Employment Contract, the hours or days not worked due to interruptions in employment due to the conditions of the part-time contract itself will not be deemed contribution gaps.

Increases in Contribution Bases:

Increases in contribution bases occurring in the last two years, if the result of salary increases above the average year-on-year increase in the applicable collective bargaining agreement, or in the absence of such an agreement, in the sector, will not be computed.

Salary increases resulting from the strict application of regulations contained in legal provisions and collective bargaining agreements concerning length of service and regulatory rises in occupational classification, together with those salary increases due to any other reason also regulated in legal provisions or collective bargaining agreements, will be excluded from the foregoing.

Pluri-employment:

The bases for which the various companies have contributed will compute in full; however, the sum of said bases may not exceed the contribution ceiling in force at any time.

Pluri-activity:

When contributions are accredited under various systems, and the worker is not entitled to a pension under one of these systems, the Contribution Bases accredited in the latter under a pluri-activity system may be added to those in the system where a pension can be claimed, exclusively for determining the BR of the same; however, the sum of said bases may not exceed the contribution ceiling in force at any time.

Cases for exoneration of payments(*):

For periods of activity in which no contributions have been made for common contingencies (except for the Temporary Disability benefit), because the exemption provided for in Article 152 of the General Law on Social Security applies to workers employed by another person and worker or worker-members of cooperatives who have reached the age for access to the retirement pension, the following rules shall be taken into account:

1. The bases used will be those which would have been contributed, unless they exceed the result of increasing the average of the contribution bases for the immediately preceding calendar year by the average known variation in the CPI for the last year, plus two percentage points.
   
2. If the contribution bases declared are greater than the average of those from the previous year, increased in accordance with rule 1, that amount is taken as the contribution basis.
   
3. In order to calculate the average indicated in rule 1, the contribution bases will be taken for the activity and company for which contribution is exempt and for the working day comparable to the one worked.
   
4. If there are no contribution bases in any of the monthly payments of the previous calendar year, the average of the existing contributions is divided by the number of months for these payments.
   
5. If there are no contribution bases for the activity subject to payment exemptions, the contribution bases taken are those of the interested party working as an employee during the year prior to the beginning of the exemption, for a working day comparable to the one exempt from contributions.
   
6. If there are no contribution bases for the previous year, we take the contribution bases in the first year they do exist, calculating the average as per rule 1 and applying the rules cited in the foregoing sections. Said average will be raised by the average percentage variation of the calendar year or years until reaching the year in which payment exemption commences.

Contribution basis to be taken into consideration in the benefit calculation bases for caring for children or fostered minors:

• When the period considered contributed for the purposes of benefit for caring for children or fostered minors falls within the calculation period for determining the benefit base rate, the contribution basis we take into account will be the average of the beneficiary's contribution bases for the 6 months immediately preceding when contributions begin their suspension or, if applicable, when contribution is intermittent, those corresponding to the six months contributed immediately preceding the period computed.
• It the beneficiary does not have the aforementioned 6 months' contributed, we compute the average of the contribution bases that are accredited, corresponding to the period immediately preceding contribution suspension.

Percentage applicable from 01-01-2013:

The percentage varies depending on the number of years the individual has been making Social Security contributions. A scale is applied that begins with 50% at 15 years, increasing  from the sixteenth year by 0.19% for each additional contribution month from month 1 to month 248, and by 0.18% for those who pass month 248, with the percentage applicable to the base pension never exceeding 100%, except in cases where the individual accesses their pension at a later age than is applicable to them.

Once this sum is determined, the corresponding sustainability factor for the given time is applied. The application of this sustainability factor has been postponed by Law 6/2018, of 3 July, on the General State Budget for 2018.

In any case, it shall enter into force no later than 1 January 2023.

However, until 2027, a gradual, transitional period has been established, in which the above percentages are replaced with the following:

Transitional maintenance of maternity supplement

People who, on 4-2-2021, were receiving the demographic contribution maternity supplement will continue to receive it.

The receipt of the maternity supplement will be incompatible with the new contributory pension supplement for the reduction of the gender gap, and the persons concerned may choose between one or the other.

If the other parent of one of the children who was entitled to the maternity supplement applies for the contributory pension supplement and is entitled to receive it, the monthly amount recognised shall be deducted from the maternity supplement, with financial effects from the first day of the month following that of the decision, provided that the decision is issued within six months of the application or, where applicable, of the recognition of the pension that gave rise to it; after this period, the effects shall take effect from the first day of the seventh month following that of the decision.

Supplement for the reduction of the gender gap

The contributory pension supplement for the reduction of the gender gap, replaces the maternity supplement for demographic contribution with a supplement aimed at reducing the gender gap, which  seeks to repair the harm that women have suffered throughout their professional career for assuming a major role in the task of caring for children, which is projected in the area of pensions.

Percentage applicable to those who fall under legislation prior to 01/01/2013:

The percentage varies depending on the number of years the individual has been making Social Security contributions. A scale is applied that begins with 50% at 15 years, increasing by 3% for each additional year between the sixteenth and twenty-fifth year and 2% from the twenty-sixth year until reaching 100% at 35 years.

The contribution years to take into account are those made:

• To the General Social Security System.

• To the different Special Social Security Systems.

• To the former Old Age Insurance and Disability  Systems and/or Labour Union.

• To the integrated Systems, including those prior to the introduction of these if they count towards the right to the benefits they give rise to.

• To other Social Security Entities, which act as substitutes for those corresponding to the regime or regimes that are yet to be integrated.

• Contributions paid to the State Pensioners Regime.(Régimen de Clases Pasivas del Estado).

• To the Public Administrations and organisations attached to them prior to 01-01-59 by personnel who did not hold civil servant positions.

• The contributions  of staff in the Justice System shall be treated as periods of contributions where there is a difference between the periods actually worked as shown on the certificate of service and those shown on the certificate of contributions. These periods will not be included in the databases of the Social Security General Treasury and will therefore be treated as having contributed, at the request of the person concerned, at the time when the corresponding pension is paid or reviewed.
  

Rules for calculating the contribution years:

If the contributions were made prior to 01-01-67, all the days for which contributions were made will be taken into account and the total number of days will be divided by 365 to get the number of years of contributions. A fraction of a year cannot be counted as a full year, given that, once the first fifteen years of contributions are completed, the percentage applicable to the pension base increases with each additional month in which contributions are made.

If contributions were made prior to 01-01-67, the number of contribution years is calculated by dividing the total number of contribution days by 365 (without rounding up a fraction of a year to a full year) obtained from the sum of the following contributions:

• Days of contributions to the General System and other regimes from 01-01-67.
• Days of contributions to Old Age Insurance and Labour Unions between 01-01-60 and 31-12-66, provided these do not overlap.

• The bonus days which correspond to the worker, according to the age reached on 01-01-67, as long as contributions are accredited to the Old Age and Disability Insurance and/or Labour Insurance, in accordance with the following scale:
  

• The base rate for retirement pensions and Permanent Disability benefit is reached using the general rule.
• For the purpose of determining the amount of retirement pensions and Permanent Disability pensions due to Common Disease, in the case of part-time work, all the periods during which the worker has been on sick leave shall be taken into consideration, regardless of the length of the working day.
• The percentage to be applied to the respective base rate will be determined in accordance with the general scale (Article 210  and  ninth transitional provision of the General Law on Social Security), and will take into account the days on which the worker has been registered, irrespective of the length of the working day.
  

(*) Exoneration of contributions for workers aged 65 and over:

As of 01/01/2013:

Employers and workers will be exempted from having to pay Social security contributions for common disease and illness, except for temporary disability resulting from these, for salaried employees with indefinite work contracts as well as working members of co-operatives, provided they are in one of the following cases:

• 65 years of age and 38 years and 6 months contributed.
• 67 years of age and 37 years contributed.
   

In both the aforementioned cases, the proportional parts of extra salary payments will not enter into the calculation of years contributed.

If, upon reaching the ages mentioned in the previous points, the worker had not contributed  the number of required years in each case, the exemption will be applicable as of the date when the required years of contribution can be accredited in either case.

These exemptions will not be applicable to contributions for workers employed by Public Administrations or in Public Organisations regulated by Title III of Law 6/1997, passed on 14 April, on the organisation and functioning of the General State Administration.

For workers for whom contribution exemptions were applied, provided for in article 112 bis prior to 1 January 2013 and who are entitled to a retirement pension after said date, the period for which said exemptions have been applied will be considered as a period of paid contributions for the purposes of calculating the corresponding pension.

For people to whom the legislation prior to 01/01/2013 is applicable:

Employers and workers will be exempt from Social Security contributions for unemployment, Wage Guarantee Fund, vocational training and for common disease and illness, except for the temporary disability that may result from them, for salaried employees with indefinite work contracts as working members of co-operatives, provided  they are 65 years of age or over and they can accredit 35 years' effective contributions to the Social Security (proportional parts of extra salary payments do not enter into this calculation).

If, upon reaching 65 years of age, the worker had not paid 35 years' contributions, the exemption will be applicable as of the date on which said 35 years' effective contributions can be accredited.

These exemptions will not be applicable to contributions for workers employed by Public Administrations or in Public Organisations regulated by Title III of Law 6/1997, passed on 14 April, on the organisation and functioning of the General State Administration.

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