Pension question, Spain
Can I get a Spanish pension after leaving Spain?
Spain pays a contributory retirement pension once you have 15 years of contributions, which the Seguridad Social states as 5,475 days, with at least 2 of those years falling inside the 15 years immediately before entitlement arises. 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.
- Source: seg-social.es and BOE Real Decreto 241/2026, read 3 October 2026
What to do next
- List every Spanish employer, the years, and your NIE or Spanish social security number if you held one.
- List your insured years in other EU countries as well.
- Run our free check to see which countries may hold a pension in your name.
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.
Run the free checkQuestions people also ask
Is the pension calculated on Spanish years only?
Spain then runs the calculation twice, once on your Spanish periods alone and once on the combined basis, and its own guidance is explicit that both calculations are always performed and the higher amount is the one paid.
- Source: seg-social.es and BOE Real Decreto 241/2026, read 3 October 2026
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.