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Beneficiaries / Contracts

As of 01-04-2013 the  conditions to be eligible for this form of retirement  are modified. However, the previous legislation shall apply to those who are affected by  temporary provision four, section 5, of the General Social Security Act.


Employees in any Social Security Scheme, as well as shareholder-workers or workers who work for cooperatives in the terms of  Article 215 of the LGSS, who meet the other required conditions to be eligible for the Social Security contributory retirement pension, may access partial retirement in the following terms:

Partial retirement without relief contract:

  • Minimum age: the ordinary age  of retirement which is applicable in each case (actual years, without applying retirement age reduction coefficients).
  • They can be hired for a full-time or part-time working day.

  • The working day is reduced: understood to be between a minimum of 25% and a maximum of 75%. 

  • Minimum contribution period: 15 years, 2 of which must be included within the 15 years prior to the causal event.
  • Length of service in the company: not required.
  • Relief contract: not required.

Partial retirement  with relief contract:

Whenever  a hand-over contract is entered into simultaneously in the stipulated terms in Article 12.6 of the Workers' Statute (WT), full-time workers may access partial retirement when they meet the following requirements:

  • They must be hired for a full-time working day. 
  • An indefinite and full-time relief contract is concluded at the same time.
  • Minimum age (without the application of reductions in retirement age): at the date of the event giving rise to the claim, the person must have reached an age that is no more than three years younger than the ordinary retirement age applicable in each case.
  • Working day reduction:

    • It shall be between a minimum of 25% and a maximum of 75%. These percentages shall be understood as referring to the working day of a comparable full-time worker.

      In cases where access to partial retirement is anticipated by more than two years before the normal retirement age, the reduction in working hours during the first year shall be set at between 20 and 33 per cent. In such cases, from the second year onwards, the parties may alter the reduction in working hours within the margins set out in the previous paragraph.

    • In cases where the fourth transitional provision, paragraph 5, applies, the reduction in working hours shall be between a minimum of 25% and a maximum of 75%, or 85% if the relief contract is full-time and for an indefinite period of time.

  • Minimum contribution period:
    • 33  years of effective contributions, without the proportional part of extra pay being taken into account. For this exclusive purpose, only the period of compulsory military service or the replacement social service will be counted, with a maximum limit of 1 year.
    • 30 years of effective contributions, without the proportional part of extra pay being taken into account, nor the mandatory military service provision or alternative service provision period for those to whom temporary provision four, section 5 is applicable.
    • 25 years, in the case of individuals with disability  at a degree equal to or greater than 33% starting on 01-01-2013.
  • Length of service in the company: at least, 6 years immediately prior to the partial retirement date. For that purpose, the seniority established in the previous company shall be calculated if a company change has been mediated in the terms in Article 44 of the ET or in companies belonging to the same group.
  • Contribution during partial retirement:

In cases where the fourth transitional provision, paragraph 5, of does not apply, during the period of partial retirement, the company and the worker shall pay the contribution basis which, where applicable, would have corresponded had the worker continued to work full-time.

Details of the part time contract of a worker who retires:

  • It shall be formalised in writing and on the official form.
  • It must include the elements of the part-time contract , as well as the working hours that the worker previously worked and those resulting from the reduction of their working hours.
  • The conclusion of the contract shall not entail the loss of the worker's acquired rights and seniority.

Details of the relief contract:

  • It will be formalised in writing following the official format and must include the name, age and professional circumstances of the substituted worker, as well as the characteristics of the position the relief worker is going to fill.
  • When the partial retiree takes partial retirement before reaching the normal retirement age, the company must simultaneously conclude an indefinite, full-time relief contract. 

The relief contract must remain in force from the effective date of partial retirement until at least two years after the partial retirement ends. In the event that the contract is terminated before this period expires, the employer shall be obliged to conclude a new relief contract on the same terms as the terminated contract. If the employer fails to comply with this obligation, they shall be liable for repayment of the pension received by the part-time pensioner. 

The relief contract shall be concluded with a worker who is unemployed or who has a fixed-term contract with the company. A permanent-discontinuous contract may also be concluded under terms to be established by regulation.

The position of the relieved worker may be the same or different from that of the replaced worker. For those to whom the fourth transitional provision, section 5, of the LGSS is applicable, the job of the relief worker may be the same as that of the replaced worker or a similar one, this being understood as the performance of tasks corresponding to the same professional group or equivalent category.

In any case, there must be a correspondence between the contribution basis of the relief worker and the partial retiree, so that the contribution basis corresponding to the relief worker may not be less than 65% of the average of the contribution bases corresponding to the last 6 months of the period of the regulatory base of the partial retirement pension.

When the worker takes partial retirement after reaching the ordinary retirement age, a relief contract may be concluded, the working day of which shall be at least the working day left vacant by the partial retiree.

This relief contract may be for an indefinite period or for a fixed term. In the latter case, its duration shall coincide with the time during which the partial retirement is maintained and, in any case, with a minimum of one year.

The relief contract shall be concluded with a worker who is unemployed or who has a fixed-term contract with the company.

The position of the relief worker may be the same or different from that of the worker being replaced.

  • In both of the above cases, the relief worker's working hours may supplement those of the worker being replaced or be combined with those of the worker being replaced.

Effective compatibility between work and pension shall allow for the accumulation of working time in periods of days in a week, weeks in a month, months in a year or other periods of time, in accordance with the provisions of individual agreements or, where applicable, collective bargaining, in all its expressions, including the workplace agreement, and in no area may its use be limited or prevented.

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