In April 2025, new rules on access to the retirement pension introduced by Royal Decree-Law 11/2024, of 23 December, to improve the compatibility of the retirement pension with work, came into force. Among other issues, the requirements for access to active retirement are modified, expanding the possibilities for employees who wish to extend their working life while receiving a pension.
There is a general rule of incompatibility between work and retirement pension in Spanish social security regulations, to which exceptions are established. One of them is active retirement, with which it is possible to extend working life beyond the ordinary retirement age, with the simultaneous receipt of a percentage of the pension that corresponds to the beneficiary.
When this type of retirement was created, only those who had completed their contribution career could access it, which made it difficult to achieve the objective of generalizing the possibility of extending working life, making salary and pension compatible.
The aforementioned royal decree-law has amended article 214 of the General Social Security Law (LGSS), eliminating the requirement that, to be eligible for active retirement, the percentage applicable to the regulatory base must be 100%, and now requires that the applicant:
- Has reached the legally established retirement age at least 1 year earlier. If the minimum contribution period is met on a date after the date of reaching the ordinary retirement age, the minimum period of 1 year will be calculated between that date of completion of the minimum period and that of the event giving rise to the retirement pension. To be noted that, in 2025, it is required to be 65 years old with a contribution life of 38 years and 3 months, or 66 years and 8 months for a shorter period.
- Has covered a minimum contribution period of 15 years at the time the ordinary legal retirement age has been reached.
On the other hand, the amount of the pension in active retirement has been modified, which now depends on the period elapsed between reaching the ordinary legal retirement age and the date on which the retirement pension is accessed in its active modality, according to the following scale:
- with 1 year of delay, 45% of the pension will be collected;
- with 2 years of delay, 55% of the pension;
- with 3 years of delay, 65% of the pension;
- with 4 years of delay, 80% of the pension; and
- From the 5th year of delay, 100% of the pension will be collected.
In addition, the percentage resulting from the previous scale will be increased by 5 percentage points for every 12 uninterrupted months that the beneficiary remains in active retirement, with a maximum of 100% of the pension.
This new scale represents an important change both from the point of view of what its cost represents for the social security system and for the beneficiary, since, to date, he received a fixed amount of 50% of the pension.
Moreover, until March 2025, self-employed employees could combine 100% of their retirement pension with their activity, if they met the requirements and had at least one employee hired. Now, if they have an employee on an indefinite basis with a length of service of at least 18 months, or if they hire a new one without a previous employment relationship in the 2 years prior to the start of active retirement, they will be able to receive 75% of the pension when the delay in accessing the retirement pension is between 1 and 3 years. From the 4th year onwards, the previous scale will be applied (which will also be applicable if the requirements for hiring employees are not met).
Finally, access to and active retirement status is now compatible with the receipt of the supplement for delay of the legal retirement age regulated in article 210.2 of the LGSS.
In conclusion, the active retirement pension has undergone a real revolution, moving from being a reward for those who had long careers of contributions to allowing access to practically all those who are entitled to a retirement pension.
Nicasio Abellán Martínez
