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Spain's retirement age is set to hit its highest point yet in 2027, marking the end of the transitional period ushered in by the 2013 pension reform.

 

From 2027, anyone with at least 38 years and 6 months of contributions will be able to retire at 65. Anyone who falls short of that will need to work until 67, or until they reach the required contribution period, whichever comes first.

 

Alfonso Muñoz, a Social Security official who broke down the changes on his YouTube channel, explained that the rule from next year will be simple: over 38 years and 6 months of contributions means retirement at 65, and anything less means 67.

 

Alongside the retirement age itself, the number of years needed to qualify for 100% of the regulatory base is also rising. Until this year the figure stood at 36 years and 6 months, but from 2027 it will require a full 37 years of contributions.

 

The way that regulatory base is calculated is changing too. The traditional formula uses contribution bases from the last 25 years, or 300 months, before retirement. A second formula began phasing in during 2026 and will run alongside the original one throughout 2027.

 

Under the new option, the last 308 months are taken into account, but only the highest 304 of those are actually counted, meaning the four lowest contribution months can effectively be dropped. Mr Muñoz noted that having both formulas available at once could particularly help workers with patchier contribution histories, since they will be able to use whichever calculation works out better for them.

 

The intergenerational equity mechanism, an additional contribution designed to help fund the pension system long term, is also increasing, from 0.90% of the contribution base in 2026 to 1% in 2027. Employers cover the bulk of that at 0.83%, with employees paying the remaining 0.17%.

 

At the top end of the scale, the maximum contribution base will keep climbing too, meaning higher earners will pay in more.

 

Mr Muñoz explained that the maximum pension itself will rise by 0.115 percentage points above whatever the general CPI-linked pension increase turns out to be. So, if pensions rise by 2.6% in 2027 as currently expected, the maximum retirement pension would actually increase by 2.715%.

 

 

Image: Magnific