The arrival of a new year brings with it new changes in pension regulations. One of them is extremely important, since it affects the method of calculating retirement pensions, the largest in the system: they are paid to 6.6 million pensioners, according to data provided by Social Security.
It’s all due to the second leg of the ‘Escrivá reform’ of pensions, which introduced, among many other changes, a modification that affects the calculation of the retirement pension: a new way of calculating the regulatory base of the pension. The objective is to have more time available when finding that base.
Like all major changes in pensions, this modification will be made gradual way y, From 2026, there will be two different ways to calculate the regulatory base.
Everything is included in Royal Decree-Law 2/2023 (can be consulted at this link): from 2026, and until 2044, longer contribution periods will be computed when finding the regulatory basis. Until 2025, the last 25 were taken into account, but the change will increase those years to 27, although leaving out the 24 lowest monthly regulatory bases.
How the regulatory base of the retirement pension is calculated in 2026
However, to reach that final stage we will have to wait until 2044. Meanwhile, the contemplated contribution periods will increase from year to year and there will be two ways to calculate the regulatory base. The Royal Decree-Law modified the General Social Security Law to introduce these changes, reflected in the fourth and fortieth transitional provisions (can be consulted at this link).
Thus, in 2026 the regulatory base will be calculated with the formula “more favorable” of the following two:
- The result of dividing the sum of the 300 contribution bases immediately prior to the causative event by 350. It is the existing method in 2025.
- The result of dividing by 352.33 the sum of the 302 contribution bases with the highest amount included within the period of the 304 months immediately preceding the month prior to the causing event.
Regarding the regulatory base, they will remain no changes two aspects that influence its amount: the application of coefficients to reflect the effect of inflation in the contribution bases (except for the last two years) and the gap integration to fill with fictitious bases of between 100% and 50% of the minimum base for periods without contributions (not valid for self-employed workers and domestic workers).
How the retirement pension is calculated in 2026
Nor will the regulatory base percentages to which a worker is entitled in the amount of their pension change. These Percentages depend on the time worked throughout your working life. The longer the contribution time, the higher the percentage of the regulatory base:
- With the first 15 years of contributions, a mandatory requirement to collect a pension, you are entitled to 50% of the regulatory base.
- For each of the next 49 months of contributions, an extra 0.21% of the regulatory base is granted.
- For each of the following 209 months of contributions, an extra 0.19% of the regulatory base is granted.
Thus, and like last year, in 2026, 36 and a half years of contributions to be able to collect 100% of the regulatory base.