This page is for people who work in Spain and are thinking about their pension, for people of retirement age who have moved from Ukraine, and for those who receive a Ukrainian pension abroad.
What pensions are there in Spain?
Spain has two types of retirement pension. The contributory pension (contributiva) is calculated from the contributions you paid. The non-contributory pension (no contributiva) is granted to people on a low income who do not have a sufficient contribution record but have lived in Spain for a long time. The official answers for people under temporary protection stress that even the non-contributory pension requires at least 10 years of residence in Spain.
Who is entitled to a contributory pension?
There are two conditions: age, and a contribution record of at least 15 years, at least two of which fall within the last 15 years before retirement.
The ordinary retirement age depends on your contribution record:
| Year | Contribution record | Retirement age |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 38 years and 3 months or more | 65 |
| 2026 | less than 38 years and 3 months | 66 years and 10 months |
| from 2027 | 38 years and 6 months or more | 65 |
| from 2027 | less than 38 years and 6 months | 67 |
How is the amount of a contributory pension calculated?
First the base is determined: from 2026 it is the sum of the 302 highest monthly contribution bases in the last 304 months, divided by 352.33. Until 2040 the old rule, based on the last 25 years, can also be applied if it gives more.
You receive a percentage of the base that depends on your contribution record: 50% for the first 15 years, then in 2026 another 0.21% for each of the next 49 months and 0.19% for each of the 209 months after that. So in 2026 a contribution record of 36 years and 6 months gives 100% of the base.
The pension is paid 14 times a year. In 2026 pensions were raised by 2.7%, and the maximum pension is €3,359.60 a month. The average retirement pension in September 2026 was €1,576.1 a month.
What is the minimum pension in 2026?
For a pensioner aged 65 or over who lives alone, the minimum pension in 2026 is €936.20 a month, and with a dependent spouse it is €1,256.60 (14 payments a year). If the calculated pension is below the minimum, the state tops it up to the minimum, but only for those who live in Spain and whose income is below the set limit (in 2026, €9,442 a year, or €11,013 with a dependent spouse).
| Pensioner aged 65 or over | Minimum per month (14 payments) |
|---|---|
| With a dependent spouse | €1,256.60 |
| Lives alone | €936.20 |
| Spouse not dependent | €888.70 |
The top-up to the minimum may not exceed the amount of the non-contributory pension (€8,803.20 a year in 2026). If the pension was granted under an international agreement, the top-up is calculated taking foreign public pensions into account, including a Ukrainian one. The right to the top-up is lost, with some exceptions (for example, illness), if you stay abroad for more than 90 days a year.
Will your Ukrainian insurance periods count?
Yes, for the right to a pension. A social security agreement between Spain and Ukraine has been in force since 27 March 1998. It covers retirement, disability and survivors’ pensions and applies to citizens of both countries, as well as to recognized refugees and stateless persons.
How it works:
- each country adds the record completed in the other country to its own to check whether there is a right to a pension;
- then each country calculates a theoretical pension for the whole record and pays its own share, in proportion to the record completed on its territory;
- if the record in one country is shorter than a year and does not give a right to a pension under that country’s own law, that country pays no pension, but the other country takes that year into account;
- the country of residence tops the pension up to its own minimum if the total amount is lower.
The agreement does not cover non-contributory (social) pensions. Pensions are not reduced or stopped because a person lives in the other country. An application filed in one country is treated as filed in the other as well, if you state in it that you worked in the other country. In Spain, applications are accepted by the offices of the National Social Security Institute (INSS).
Who can get a non-contributory pension without a contribution record?
The non-contributory retirement pension (pensión no contributiva) is granted to people who:
- have reached the age of 65;
- have an income below the set limit (for one person in 2026, less than €8,803.20 a year);
- live legally in Spain and have lived here for 10 years between age 16 and retirement age, including the last two years before the application without a break.
In 2026 the full non-contributory pension is €8,803.20 a year, that is €628.80 a month over 14 payments. If a person has other income, the amount is reduced, but not below 25% (€157.20 a month). It is granted by the social services of the autonomous communities (in Ceuta and Melilla, by the state Institute for Older Persons and Social Services, IMSERSO).
So a person who came to Spain in 2022 will be able to apply for the non-contributory pension only after 10 years of residence.
What happens to your Ukrainian pension?
The Pension Fund of Ukraine continues to pay the pension to those who have moved to Spain for permanent residence, because the two countries have an agreement.
Pensioners who live abroad temporarily, including those with temporary protection, complete physical identification once a year by 31 December. You can do this on the Pension Fund’s web portal or in its mobile app with Diia.Signature, by video conference or with a document issued at a Ukrainian consulate. These pensioners receive their pension into accounts at Ukrainian banks. So to receive your pension in 2027, you must complete identification by 31 December 2026; if you do not, payments are stopped from 1 January.
We have not found an official clarification of how a Spanish resident’s Ukrainian pension is taxed; read about taxes on the page Taxes in Spain.
What mistakes should you avoid?
- Counting on a Spanish pension without a Spanish contribution record: your Ukrainian insurance periods help you reach the 15 years needed for the right to a pension, but Spain pays only the share for the years worked in Spain.
- Counting on the non-contributory pension right after you move: it requires 10 years of residence.
- Missing the annual identification with the Pension Fund of Ukraine by 31 December.
- Going abroad for more than 90 days a year while you receive a top-up to the minimum pension.