How do pensions work in Spain?

If you work in Spain, you pay into the Spanish social security system and build a Spanish state pension. Years worked in the UK and Spain can be added together to qualify, and each country then pays its own share.

The Spanish state pension

Spain’s main state pension is contributory: it comes from social security contributions (cotizaciones) taken from your pay, or paid by you if you are self-employed (autónomo). The Social Security (Seguridad Social) pays it through the INSS (National Social Security Institute).

To qualify at all you need 15 years of contributions, with at least 2 of them in the 15 years just before you retire. Early, partial and flexible retirement exist for some workers, with conditions.

How much you get

Your pension is a percentage of your “base reguladora”, an average of your contribution bases (roughly, your insured earnings). It has been based on the last 25 years. From 2026 a second calculation is phased in that lets the best years from a longer period count, and you get whichever is higher.

• 15 years of contributions give 50% of the base
• In 2026, each extra month adds 0.21% for the first 49 months, then 0.19% a month, up to 100%. From 2027 the steps change, and 100% needs about 37 years
• The 2026 maximum is €3,359.60 a month, or €47,034.40 a year (about £39,860)
• The 2026 minimum for someone aged 65 or over is €12,441.80 a year (about £10,544), or €17,592.40 with a dependent spouse, if your other income is low enough
• Contributory pensions rose 2.7% for 2026, in line with inflation. A means-tested non-contributory pension of €8,803.20 a year exists for people on low incomes

Counting UK and Spanish years together

Since 2021, the social security protocol of the UK–EU Trade and Cooperation Agreement coordinates the two systems. The Spanish government confirms that contribution periods in Spain and the UK are taken into account to qualify for a pension: under EU law for periods up to 31 December 2020, and under the protocol after that. GOV.UK confirms that contributions in EU countries can count towards the qualifying conditions for a UK State Pension.

• Each country pays its own part, worked out from the years you contributed there, and only from its own pension age
• Under EU rules, you usually claim through the pension authority where you live or last worked, which collects your records from the other countries. In Spain that is the INSS
• Pensions awarded under the protocol can be paid to you in the other country
• Ask the INSS and the UK International Pension Centre for a forecast well before you retire

Your UK State Pension and the S1

You can claim your UK State Pension from Spain, and it is increased every year in line with the rate paid in the UK. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026–27, with 35 qualifying years. Once you draw it, you can usually get an S1 from the UK, so Spanish state healthcare is paid for by the UK. For voluntary National Insurance, private and workplace pensions and lump sums, see What happens to my UK pension? and Healthcare in Spain.

Private pension plans (planes de pensiones)

Spain has personal and workplace pension plans with income tax relief. Money in a plan is normally kept until retirement, with limited exceptions set by law, so check the plan’s terms before paying in.

Payments from a Spanish plan are taxed as work income (rendimientos del trabajo) when you take them, not as savings.

How Spain taxes pensions

• Spanish state pensions and payments from Spanish pension plans count as work income in the general part of your IRPF (income tax) return
• Once you are tax resident, your UK State Pension and UK private and workplace pensions are taxed only in Spain; UK government service pensions stay taxed only in the UK unless you are also a Spanish national
• A lump sum taken while you are Spanish resident is taxable in Spain, so get advice before you take one. See Do I still pay UK tax?