The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations held its second meeting with employers and unions this past Monday to discuss changes to pension rules. One key objective put forward by Minister Elma Saiz is the possibility of advancing retirement for workers in sectors with high rates of illnesses and accidents. This concept appears in the first draft sent to social partners, though it has yet to win broad agreement. Stakeholders argue that not all proposed variables support early retirement, and there is limited trust in current official statistics to back these indices.
Under existing Spanish law, some groups can retire before the standard age, a threshold that in 2024 stands at 66 years and six months, without reducing their pension. Local police, railway workers, and firefighters serving public administrations are examples of cohorts eligible for early retirement under certain conditions.
Now the Government seeks to modify the criteria that would allow a group to access early retirement. Social Security negotiators have suggested considering factors such as the incidence, persistence, and duration of sick leave, as well as permanent disabilities or fatalities that might occur, according to sources from the department led by Saiz.
Gender bias concerns?
The immediate issue is that the first proposal has not won over the social partners. The negotiation is a long horizon, with trade unions predicting months of document exchanges. The initial draft already shows ample room for improvement from the perspective of the unions. In the last meeting, the earliest engagement of the legislative session, unions warned that the government’s approach could indirectly skew outcomes by gender.
In highly feminized sectors, such as housekeeping, work-related ailments tend to be under-detected. Many workers in these roles continue working while medicated because the financial need is urgent. According to union sources, scenarios like this could fall outside the objective indices the Ministry of Social Security aims to construct.
During negotiations held in the previous legislature, the government and social partners already flagged changes to the reduction coefficients. They discussed revising which professions might qualify for such measures every ten years, reflecting shifts in job risk profiles and workforce composition.
Altering rules for early retirement has a direct impact on companies. Sectors deemed onerous incur higher Social Security contributions; extending these categories would raise labor costs for businesses and for the public administration. The ministry currently has about 70 pending expedients from associations, companies, or workers seeking formal recognition of their profession as onerous to enable early retirement. A decision will be needed on these cases before or after agreeing on a new framework with social partners.
The negotiations will continue, and in the coming days the Government plans to send a written proposal to employers and unions on partial retirement and replacement contracts—two priorities that were not concluded in the previous session. The Social Security administration may also include ideas aimed at encouraging workers to extend their careers beyond the ordinary retirement age and to combine a portion of pension with earnings.