Spanish Pension System (Sistema de pensiones)

Spain's pension system is built around the contributory (contributiva) pension based on Seguridad Social contribution history, with a non-contributory (no contributiva) pension for those who fall short. The general scheme (Régimen General) and the self-employed scheme (RETA, Régimen Especial de Trabajadores Autónomos) run in parallel; contribution records are kept by TGSS (Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social) and INSS (Instituto Nacional de la Seguridad Social). Compared with Korea's National Pension, two features stand out: benefits are based on the average of the last 25 years of contribution-base earnings, and retirement age is phasing up from 65 to 67, fully applied from 2027.

Old-age pension (jubilación) — core requirements

• Retirement age (2026 baseline) — 65 if you have at least 38 years 6 months of contributions, otherwise around 66 years 8 months (uniform 67 from 2027).
• Minimum contribution period — 15 years to qualify, of which 2 years must fall within the 15 years immediately before retirement.
• Full (100%) entitlement — roughly 36–38 years of contributions, rising annually. Below that, the amount is reduced proportionally.
• Early retirement (jubilación anticipada) — voluntarily up to 2 years before retirement age, involuntarily up to 4 years, but with permanent reduction coefficients (coeficientes reductores).
• Partial and deferred retirement (jubilación demorada) — working past retirement age earns an annual bonus that increases the pension.

Korea–Spain social security agreement (in force November 2013)

• Korean National Pension contribution periods and Spanish Seguridad Social periods can be totalised (totalización).
• If you leave Spain before reaching the 15-year minimum, combining Korean periods can still secure entitlement, and you can receive a pension proportional to your Spanish contributions while resident in Korea (and vice versa).
• The agreement includes posting (destacamiento) provisions — Korean assignees can typically remain in the Korean National Pension for up to 2–5 years and be exempt from Spanish Seguridad Social during that time.
• Applications can be filed in either country (Korea's NPS or INSS); the two institutions exchange records directly.

EU totalisation

• Because Spain is an EU member state, EC Regulation 883/2004 automatically totalises contribution periods from other EU member states.
• For Koreans who previously worked in Germany or France before moving to Spain, EU-wide totalisation applies without a separate bilateral treaty.

Non-contributory pension (Pensión no contributiva)

• A means-tested social-assistance pension for low-income people aged 65 and over with little or no contribution record. Operated by regional social-services departments.
• Residence requirements are strict (10 years of legal residence in Spain, including 2 consecutive years immediately before age 65), so foreigners must keep a clean NIE and empadronamiento trail.

Common pitfalls for newcomers

• The self-employed (RETA) register separately and use a different contribution-base calculation and premium structure.
• Voluntary contributions (convenio especial) — if your contributions stop because of unemployment or relocation abroad, you can keep paying voluntarily to fill in years and protect future entitlement.

Official guidance: Seguridad Social – Pensiones, INSS, and Korea's National Pension Service – social security agreements.