Partial retirement. Manufacturing industry. Application of the regulations prior to Law 27/2011 of 1 August for events occurring between 8/12/2018 and 31/12/2023

In accordance with section 6 of the fourth transitory provision of the revised text of the General Law on Social Security by Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, of 30 October, the regulation for partial retirement with simultaneous celebration of a relief contract, in force prior to the entry into force of Law 27/2011, of 1 August, will continue to apply to pensions accrued before 1 January 2030, as long as the following requirements are accredited:

• The worker requesting access to partial retirement directly performs duties requiring physical effort or a high degree of attention in manufacturing, processing or transformation tasks, as well as in the specialised assembly, commissioning, maintenance and repair of machinery and industrial equipment in companies classified as in the manufacturing industry.

• The worker requesting access to partial retirement must have been with the company for at least six years immediately prior to the date of partial retirement. For this purpose, the seniority accredited in the previous company will be taken into account if there has been a company succession in the terms provided for in article 44 of the revised text of the Workers' Statute Law, approved by Royal Legislative Decree 2/2015, of 23 October, or in companies belonging to the same group.

• At the time of the event giving rise to the partial retirement, the percentage of workers in the company whose employment contract is for an indefinite period exceeds 70% of the total workforce.

• The reduction in the working hours of the partial retiree must be between a minimum of 25% and a maximum of 67%, or 80% in cases where the relief worker is hired on a full-time basis under a contract of indefinite duration. These percentages shall be understood as referring to the working day of a comparable full-time worker.

• A contribution period of thirty-three years must be accredited on the date of the causal event giving rise to the partial retirement, without the proportional part corresponding to special payments being taken into account for this purpose. For this exclusive purpose, only the period of compulsory military service or the replacement social service or the compulsory social service for women will be counted, with a maximum limit of one year.
  In the case of people with a degree of disability equal to or greater than 33 per cent, the required contribution period shall be twenty-five years.

• Without prejudice to the reduction in working hours referred to in (d), during the period of partial retirement, the company and the worker shall contribute 80 per cent of the contribution basis which, where applicable, would have corresponded to the partial retiree had they continued to work full-time. This contribution shall be applied gradually according to the following scale:

  • During 2025, the contribution basis will be equivalent to 40% of the contribution basis that would have corresponded to full-time.

  • During 2026, the contribution basis will be equivalent to 50% of the contribution basis that would have corresponded to full-time.

  • During 2027, the contribution basis will be equivalent to 60% of the contribution basis that would have corresponded to full-time.

  • During 2028, the contribution basis will be equivalent to 70% of the contribution basis that would have corresponded to full-time.

  • During 2029, the contribution basis will be equivalent to 80% of the contribution basis that would have corresponded to full-time.

For the purposes of the application of the provisions of this paragraph, the effective compatibility between work and pension shall allow 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 appropriate, collective bargaining, in all its expressions, including the workplace agreement, without being able to limit or prevent its use in any area.