Spain approves rules to expand flexible retirement for pensioners

Spain’s government has approved new rules on flexible retirement, opening the door for more pensioners to work part-time or as self-employed while keeping part of their state pension.

Royal Decree on flexible retirement

The Council of Ministers has approved a Royal Decree regulating the legal framework for flexible retirement. The core aim is to:

• Make it easier for retired people to stay in or return to work.
• Allow pensioners to receive part of their pensión contributiva de jubilación (contributory retirement pension) while working.
• Promote what the government calls “active ageing” and voluntary participation of older workers in the labour market.

This measure sits within the 2024 pension reform package negotiated between the government and social partners. It focuses on easing the transition from employment to retirement and improving the compatibility between work and pension income.

Who can access flexible retirement under the new Spanish rules

The revamped jubilación flexible is not a new pension type, but a way of combining an existing pension with work.

Those who can apply are:

• People who already receive a contributory retirement pension.
• Pensioners who voluntarily want to return to paid work and draw both earnings and part of their pension.

The reform also removes a previous barrier: there is no longer a minimum waiting period after retirement. Once the pension has been recognised, flexible retirement can be requested at any time.

Flexible retirement for employees and self-employed pensioners in Spain

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Under the new rules, pensioners can continue to combine a state pension with work as an employee on a part-time contract.

Key elements are:

• The working day must be part-time, but the permitted range is now wider.
• The part-time band is expanded to between 33% and 80% of a full-time schedule.

While in flexible retirement:

• The pension is reduced in line with the reduction in working hours compared with a full-time worker.
• In practice, the higher the working percentage, the lower the portion of pension received, before any new incentives are applied.

New option for pensioners who want to work as self-employed

One of the main novelties is that flexible retirement is no longer limited to part-time employees. Pensioners will also be able to work as self-employed (trabajo por cuenta propia), registered as autónomos.

The conditions are:

• The person must already be a retirement pensioner.
• They must not have been registered as self-employed in the three years prior to the date of retirement.
• The self-employed activity must be compatible with their pension under the new rules.

In this self-employed scenario, the pensioner can receive up to 25% of their contributory retirement pension while carrying out the activity.

Pension incentives for returning to work after retirement

The reform introduces new financial incentives for those who decide to resume work some time after retiring, particularly in the case of part-time employment.

Additional pension percentages for part-time work

Extra pension supplements are available where:

• The pensioner accesses flexible retirement at least six months after the initial retirement date.

If that condition is met, two incentive bands apply for part-time work as an employee:

• Part-time work between 55% and 80% of a full-time schedule:
  • The amount of the pension is increased by an additional 25%
• Part-time work equal to or above 33% but below 55% of a full-time schedule:
  • The pension receives an additional 15% supplement.

These percentages are designed to encourage pensioners to re-enter the labour market on a voluntary basis after a period of full retirement, rather than moving straight into flexible retirement from day one.

Pension payments while working as self-employed

For pensioners who opt for self-employed work under the flexible retirement scheme:

• The pension can be drawn at up to 25% of its value during the period in which the self-employed activity is carried out.

Early retirement under flexible retirement

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The reform also addresses the situation of those who entered retirement through jubilación anticipada involuntaria (involuntary early retirement).

If such a pensioner:

• Takes up flexible retirement, and later
• Returns from flexible retirement to full retirement,

then their pension can be improved. When they go back to full retirement, the initial pension is recalculated:

• The base reguladora (reference earnings base used to calculate the pension) is updated.
• The applicable percentage is revised to include the additional contribution period built up while working during flexible retirement.

This recalculation can lead to a higher final pension for people who were pushed into early retirement and then returned to the labour market.

How flexible, delayed and active retirement are changing retirement patterns in Spain

The Spanish government frames the expansion of flexible retirement as part of a wider shift in how and when people retire, alongside delayed retirement and jubilación activa (active retirement).

Delayed retirement gaining ground

In recent years, more workers have chosen to delay retirement beyond the statutory retirement age.

According to the data in the May 26 press release from the ministry:

• In 2021, delayed retirements represented 4.8% of new retirement pensions.
• By 2025, this share had risen to 10.9%
• In 2026 so far, delayed retirements already account for over 12% of new pensions, with 15,600 such pensions recorded, more than in the whole of 2021.

Fewer early retirements and shorter anticipation periods

The government also highlights a drop in early retirements and a reduction in the extent to which people bring retirement forward. In 2018, early retirements represented more than 43% of new pensions. Currently, they are around 30%.

Spain’s flexible retirement reform within the 2021–2026 pension changes

The expansion of jubilación flexible completes a cycle of pension reforms that began in 2021 and were deepened through the 2024 tripartite social agreement between the government and social partners.

Across delayed, active and flexible retirement, the overarching goals are to:

• Make the transition from employment to retirement more gradual and adaptable.
• Bring the effective retirement age closer to the legal retirement age.
• Offer pensioners a broader set of voluntary options for combining work and pension, or for pushing back the retirement date.

Presenting the new decree, the Minister for Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, Elma Saiz, underlined that the objective is for workers to have “more and better options” when choosing how to retire or how to combine employment with their pension, and pointed to the positive results so far from incentives for delayed and active retirement.

Choosing to retire in Spain

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For many English-speaking residents, the expansion of jubilación flexible sits alongside wider questions about lifestyle, finances and location when planning retirement in Spain.

Those weighing up the pros and cons of retiring in Spain often look at healthcare access, climate, cost of living and how easy it is to integrate into local communities.

Financial planning remains central. The cost of retiring to Spain in 2026 depends on factors such as where you live, housing choices and how much you expect to work under schemes like delayed, active or flexible retirement.

Location also shapes the retirement experience. Rankings of the best places to retire in Spain frequently highlight medium-sized coastal towns and well-connected inland cities that combine good services with a strong social and cultural offer. 

Alongside these choices, many new retirees encounter the reality of Spanish bureaucracy for retirees, including processes around residency documentation, social security registration and healthcare access.

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