The retirement pension is a contributory benefit to which all workers are entitled from the legal age and as long as they have contributed for at least 15 years – two of which must have been produced in the 15 years prior to requesting retirement. . Currently, workers can retire at 66 years and 4 months. To the resulting amount, calculated based on the contribution, a complete extra for childcare can be added, which helps the amount received by the retiree to increase by 121 euros.
There is an exception. The retirement age is maintained at 65 years for those who have contributed more than 37 years and 9 months to Social Security. The retirement system is currently undergoing a progressive change that increases the retirement age year by year. In the same way, until 2027 the minimum period required to retire at age 65 will increase.
Retiring before the legal age set at that time is possible through early retirement, although it has consequences on the final amount of pension that will be received. Likewise, for those who delay their professional retirement beyond the current ordinary age – delayed retirement – an additional percentage is recognized. These are two of the supplements that affect the amount of the pension, but there are also others.
Child pension supplement
For example, pensioners who have had one or more children can apply for the supplement to reduce the gender gap. Social Security explains that “it is related to the possible damage to one’s professional career in the periods after having a child, suffered overwhelmingly by women, and is one of the main causes of the existence of the gender gap in pension amount.”
This supplement, in addition to the retirement pension, is available in widow’s and disability pensions and came into force in February 2021, so it benefits pensions approved as of that date. The request must be made at the time of requesting the pension from the National Social Security Institute (INSS) -or from the Social Institute of the Navy in the case of seafarers-.
This request can be made through the Your Social Security portal – it is necessary to have a cl@ve, electronic DNI or digital certificate – or through the platform enabled by the INSS for requesting and processing Social Security benefits. In addition, the procedure can also be carried out in person by appointment.
Complement for fathers and mothers
The beneficiaries of this supplement can see their pension increased by 30.40 euros each month and for each child, with a limit of four times this amount: one child (30.40 euros per month), two children (60.8 euros per month) , three children (91.2 euros). per month) and four or more children (121.6 euros per month). This amount is set each year in the General State Budget and for its application the maximum limit of contributory pensions is not taken into account, nor to determine the supplement for pensions lower than the minimum.
Although this supplement seeks to compensate for a situation that women suffer “overwhelmingly”, it is also available for men. Where applicable, additional requirements must be met. Specifically, if the children were born before 1995, they must prove more than 120 days without contributions between the nine months before birth and the three years after that date.
If the children were born after 1995, they must prove that the sum of the contribution bases for the twenty-four months following the birth or the judicial resolution constituting the adoption is lower, by more than 15 percent. . , to that of the immediately preceding twenty-four months. In both cases, as long as the sum of the amounts of the recognized pensions is less than the sum of the pensions that corresponds to the woman.
