Retirement is a major change for any worker. It supposes their professional retirement and, in addition, they go from having income from work – payroll if they are an employee or income for the self-employed – to collecting the retirement pension. There are two types of pensions in these cases, contributory and non-contributory. Only those workers who have contributed the minimum period will be entitled to the first. In Spain, there are autonomous communities where there is a greater number of retirees with low pensions and, on the contrary, others that accumulate the highest incomes.
Specifically, Social Security requires having contributed for at least 15 years, two of which must have been in the 15 years prior to requesting retirement. In addition, the contributory pension will only be available once the legal retirement age has been reached. Currently, the legal age is set at 66 years and 4 months, except for those who have contributed at least 37 years and nine months. In that case, they will be able to retire at 65 years of age.
The amount of this pension depends on the regulatory base – based on the contribution bases – and the general percentage that corresponds depending on the years of contributions – from the age of 36 and a half, 100% of the regulatory base is applied. . In addition, an additional percentage may also be added for the extension of working life if retirement is accessed at an age higher than the ordinary age in force at any given time. Or a corresponding reduction coefficient will be applied if early retirement is agreed.
How many annual payments does retirement have?
Currently, almost 6.4 million Spaniards receive a contributory retirement pension, according to data from August. The average pension stands at 1,375.68 euros per month. It must be taken into account that pensions are received in 14 payments, one for each month, together with the extraordinary summer and Christmas payments.
Although the amount received during retirement depends on each worker and their circumstances during their working life, there are differences between the average pensions of each Autonomous Community. Specifically, between the community with the highest average pension, the Basque Country, and the one with the lowest average pension, Extremadura, there is a difference of more than 500 euros. In the Basque Country, retirees receive an average of almost 1,685 euros each month.
Asturias is the second region with the highest average pension, in the month of August it stood at 1,640 euros. They are followed by the Community of Madrid and Navarra, where retirees are entitled to an average pension of 1,591 euros and 1,548 euros, respectively. On the contrary, behind Extremadura, Andalusia (1,241.24 euros), the Valencian Community (1,261.02 euros), the Canary Islands (1,268.68 euros) and the Balearic Islands (1,271.29 euros) register the lowest average pensions, according to the Latest data published.
When and how is the retirement pension collected?
Beneficiaries will receive the pension between the first business day of the corresponding month and the fourth calendar day of said month. As the banks already have the information about the next transfer, some decide to make the importation of the pension available to their clients before the dates established by the standard. However, the Bank of Spain remembers that “this decision may be conditioned upon the fulfillment of certain requirements, such as updating the La Libreta, Yes V V. Voluntary, since it is framed within the commercial and risk assumption policy of each entity.”
And Social Security explains that contributory pensions are paid to their holders through a checking account, unless they are beneficiaries under 18 years of age or judicially incapacitated adults, in which case, the pension will be paid to those who have them in their care. . , as long as they fulfill the obligation to maintain and educate them, or to whom they have been assigned guardianship or guardianship.
