As we add years, and perhaps also because we gain wisdom, the idea of ????retiring begins to haunt our heads insistently, like a guest who refuses to leave a party. After a certain age, it seems that most people are eager to get on the retirement train as soon as possible.
The reasons are very clear: we all want to rest after decades of hard work. A life without the tyranny of the clock and far from work obligations begins to sound very good when you cross the barrier of 60. Even before.
But there is a drawback: in 2024 the legal ordinary retirement age is 66 years and 6 months – if less than 38 years have been contributed – and 65 years if a contribution period of more than 38 years has been accumulated. If we cannot wait that long, there is always the possibility of taking voluntary early retirement if certain requirements are met. But let’s start by first defining what this type of retirement consists of.
“Voluntary early retirement is defined as one in which the worker is allowed to access retirement before reaching the legally established age for it,” says Desirée Palomo, lawyer and head of the premium and retirement service at the Campmany Abogados firm. “Specifically, in this type of early retirement at the will of the worker, he is allowed access up to 2 years before the corresponding ordinary retirement age.”
There we would have, therefore, the first requirement to retire early. We cannot do it whenever we want, but we have to be 63 years old and have more than 38 years of contributions or 64 years and 6 months, with less than 38 years of contributions.
In any case, according to Social Security data, in 2023 34.3% of retirements were early retirements. Which represents a very important percentage of them. A total of 112,032 people accessed their pension through this means.
As we have already mentioned, the first requirement to qualify for early retirement is to be 64 years and 6 months if we have less than 38 years of contributions, or 63 years if the accredited contribution period is greater than 38 years.
According to Palomo, in addition to this, the worker must prove:
The price you have to pay for retiring early is that you will earn a little less than what you would earn if you stayed up to the age established by law. The penalties are found in the table of article 208.2 of the General Social Security Law. “These reducing coefficients will be applied to the pension depending on how many months the ordinary retirement age is anticipated. These coefficients will be higher, up to 21%, if you have less than 38 years and 6 months of contributions, and between 19% and 13% if you have between 38 years and 6 months of contributions and more or less than 44 years and 6 months. “For example, anticipating retirement two years.”
Furthermore, from January 1, 2024, the reducing coefficients provided by the Transitional Provision 34 of the General Social Security Law,” says Palomo. “It contemplates four transitional tables from 2024 to 2033, depending on the periods contributed during working life and the months in which retirement is anticipated.”
“In this way,” continues the expert, “the regulatory bases that exceed the maximum amount will support a double calculation: the reducing coefficient of article 210 of the General Law of Social Security is applied to the resulting regulatory base, and the coefficient reduction of Transitional Provision 34, is applied to the amount of the maximum pension.”
In addition to voluntary early retirement, there is another type of early retirement that can be accessed a little earlier due to its exceptional circumstances. This is non-voluntary or forced early retirement, which is governed by article 207 of the General Social Security Law.
According to lawyer Palomo, this can only be accessed by people who have suffered an termination of the employment relationship they had with their employer for reasons not attributable to the worker: ERE, dismissal for objective reasons provided for in art. 52 of the Workers’ Statute (for example economic, technical, organizational or productive causes), or the termination of the contract in cases of substantial modification of working conditions, among others.
“In the case of involuntary early retirement (or commonly known as forced), access will be four years before the corresponding ordinary retirement age,” details Palomo.
Another particular case would occur if voluntary early retirement is accessed from the situation of receiving unemployment benefit for those over 52 years of age defined in article 274 of the General Social Security Law, for at least 3 months, and if This unemployment situation comes from an involuntary cessation of work. In this case we can benefit from the provisions of section 3 of article 208 of the General Law of Social Security.
“In this way, if we comply with the requirements for access to voluntary early retirement, the reducing coefficients of the involuntary modality will be applied to us (article 207 LGSS), instead of those provided for the voluntary one, which is usually more beneficial,” says Palomo.
As we have just seen, beyond knowing whether or not we meet the requirements to request early retirement, the calculation of our pension requires a complicated process, so if we want to know before requesting it the amount we will receive, it is advisable to contact hands of a specialist.
Once we are clear about this figure, we should check, before making the decision, that we will have a sufficient budget to meet our financial needs in the future.
Finally, we must not forget what it means to be retired. Retirement can be a wonderful time to be able to do everything we have not been able to throughout our working lives, but it can also be a period in which we lose the purpose of our life. Therefore, we have to try to lead an active life and fill it with friendships, hobbies and projects.
So, although the idea of ??retiring may seem tempting and exciting, we must not lose sight of the fact that it is an important decision and one for which we must be adequately prepared and advised.