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Pension question, Spain

How many years do I need to work in Spain to get a pension?

To have a right to a retirement pension, a person needs a minimum of 15 years (5,475 days) of contributions in total, of which 2 years must fall within the 15 years immediately before the moment the right to the pension arises (causar el derecho). Under European coordination Spain must add the insurance periods you completed in other member states to your Spanish ones, provided they do not overlap, and test the 15 year condition against the combined total.

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What to do next

  1. Add up your Spanish working days from payslips or contracts, because the minimum is counted in days.
  2. Check which of those years fall in the last fifteen before your pension age.
  3. Run our free check to see which other countries hold years that may be added to your Spanish ones.

Check your own working life for free

Tell us where you worked. The free check shows which countries may hold a pension for you, and which can be ruled out and why. No sign in, no charge.

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Questions people also ask

Can I keep contributing in Spain after leaving, to reach the minimum?

To sign up to the ordinary convenio especial (voluntary continued contributions to Spanish Social Security), the application must be submitted within 1 year, counted for most people from the day after the effective date of deregistration from the Social Security scheme.

Do you give advice on what to do?

No. We identify where a pension is likely held and the official route to it, and we name each source with the date we read it. We do not give financial, tax or legal advice.