I was an employee and then went self-employed. Does that hurt me?

Not by itself. The two schemes add up through the cómputo recíproco, so what matters is the bases, not the badge. What usually hurts is contributing at the minimum base as a self-employed worker for years: the last 25 to 29 years are the ones the base reguladora looks at, so cheap quotas late in a career cost real pension.

Why does the calculator show two base reguladora methods?

Because since 1 January 2026 you can keep the better of the two, and the choice is yours at the moment you claim. The 302-of-304 method drops your two worst months, so it usually wins on a career with gaps or a thin patch; on a flat career the difference is small.

How much does retiring two years early really cost?

Between 13% and 21% of the pension, forever, depending on how long you contributed: 21% under 38 years and 6 months, 13% from 44 years and 6 months. It is not a temporary cut and it is not recovered at the ordinary age, which is why the calculator shows the reduced figure as the headline.

Spain

Spain retirement pension calculator

List the stretches of your working life, employee or self-employed, with the contribution base of each, and get the monthly pension they add up to: the percentage your years earn, the base reguladora under both 2026 methods, and what retiring early or late does to the number.

Your career

One row per stretch, oldest first. The base is the monthly contribution base of that job, not the salary you invoiced.

Years
Scheme
Monthly base
Years
Scheme
Monthly base

When you stop

Retirement age

years

Half years accepted: 64.5 is 64 years and 6 months.

Your estimated pension

Monthly pension€1,004per month, 14 payments

Annual pension: €14,053
Years contributed: 30 years
Percentage earned: 85.18%
Base reguladora: €1,178
Method that wins: Best 302 of the last 304 / 352.33
Your ordinary retirement age: 66 years 10 months

Spanish pensions are paid in 14 instalments a year.

Estimate

workingfigures.com/spain/calculadora-pension-jubilacion

The formula

Pension = base reguladora × percentage × early or delay adjustment. The base reguladora is the better of the last 300 monthly bases divided by 350, or the 302 highest bases inside the last 304 months divided by 352.33. The percentage starts at 50% with 15 years, adds 0.21% for each of the next 49 months and 0.19% for each of the following 209, and reaches 100% at 36 years and 6 months.

What this assumes

Bases entered in today's euros, so the result is in today's euros too (the real calculation revalues older bases with the CPI). Employee gaps are filled at the minimum base for 48 months and half of it afterwards; self-employed gaps count as zero, because RETA has no integración de lagunas. Early retirement uses the voluntary coefficients, not the involuntary ones. Verified August 2026 against the 2026 transitional tables.

FAQ

I was an employee and then went self-employed. Does that hurt me?: Not by itself. The two schemes add up through the cómputo recíproco, so what matters is the bases, not the badge. What usually hurts is contributing at the minimum base as a self-employed worker for years: the last 25 to 29 years are the ones the base reguladora looks at, so cheap quotas late in a career cost real pension.
Why does the calculator show two base reguladora methods?: Because since 1 January 2026 you can keep the better of the two, and the choice is yours at the moment you claim. The 302-of-304 method drops your two worst months, so it usually wins on a career with gaps or a thin patch; on a flat career the difference is small.
How much does retiring two years early really cost?: Between 13% and 21% of the pension, forever, depending on how long you contributed: 21% under 38 years and 6 months, 13% from 44 years and 6 months. It is not a temporary cut and it is not recovered at the ordinary age, which is why the calculator shows the reduced figure as the headline.