At a time when the future of early retirements and the impact of penalties applied to those who have worked their entire lives are also being discussed in Portugal, a case arrives from Spain that is generating great public debate. A 65-year-old woman, forced to leave her job just before the legal age, saw her pension suffer a strong penalty, a situation that has parallels with what many Portuguese workers fear when they face dismissals close to retirement age, according to the digital newspaper Noticias Trabajo.
The story gained prominence in Spain, where the legal age for access to the pension continues to increase and will reach 67 years old in 2027. As in Portugal, those who retire before the legal age see their pension penalized through reducing coefficients that can cut a significant part of their future income.
Retirement age and cuts applied
In Spain, as in Portugal, there are penalties for those who retire before the normal age, even when this happens for reasons beyond the worker’s control. In the Spanish case, these cuts can reach around 30 percent of the final value of the pension, varying according to the years of the contributory career and the months in advance.
This is what happened to Pilar Vaquerizo Pascual, 65 years old, who after more than 44 years of discounts was forced to retire due to a collective layoff. Unable to find a new job in his early 60s, he ended up taking early retirement and his pension was reduced by 24 percent.
Has worked since he was a teenager
In a statement released by the ASJUBI40 association, cited by the same source, Pilar recalled that she started working when she was still a teenager and lamented: “they don’t have the right to treat us like that”. When talking about the penalty on her pension, she said she felt wronged and highlighted that the reduction has permanent effects. Therefore, he advocates that the Spanish Government eliminate reducing coefficients for those who have worked for more than 40 years, regardless of the executive in office.
According to the same source, Pilar’s case represents thousands of workers who, after a lifetime of contributing, end up facing significant reductions because they were forced to leave the job market before the legal age.
Debate reaches the Spanish Parliament
All the social pressure took the issue to the Congress of Deputies, where a proposal was approved for the Government to eliminate the penalties applied to early retirements for people with more than 40 years of discounts. The initiative came from Unidas Podemos and received the support of the PSOE, despite the initial opposition expressed by the Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migrations, Elma Saiz.
The minister defended the legislation approved in 2021, arguing that the penalties aim to protect the sustainability of the public pension system. He also recalled that there is a supplement for early retirement applicable to long contributory careers, but which requires strict criteria.
A problem that affects hundreds of thousands of people
According to ASJUBI40, there are more than 900,000 Spaniards penalized for involuntary early retirement. Many were made redundant at the age of 60 and had no alternative but to retire, facing cuts that could amount to around a third of the value of their pension, says .
Although this is a Spanish case, in Portugal there are also penalizing coefficients on early retirement, a topic frequently debated by unions, retirees’ associations and Social Security experts.
The Spanish Parliament’s final decision could influence future discussions in Europe, including Portugal, where thousands of workers live in similar situations and await changes that could enhance long careers and benefit from a very young age.
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