WORKERS with long careers in Spain could be entitled to retire early with a full pension under a new government proposal.

The Spanish parliament agreed on Tuesday to examine a bill that could, if approved, possibly permit expats in Spain to retire early without losing a large chunk of their pension.

If enshrined into law, the plan would mean workers who have paid social security contributions for at least 40 years could retire before the age of 65 without any cuts to their pension.

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Under current Spanish law, workers can also opt to retire before their ordinary retirement age, but if they do, their pension is reduced depending on how early they retire and how many years they have contributed.

If someone has paid social security contributions for 40 years but decides to retire at 63, for example, they could still face a reduction in their pension of up to 17% for retiring early.

But under the new proposal, someone who has paid social security contributions for 40 years could retire early without any pension cuts, provided they meet the other requirements for early retirement.

Because this is still a proposal, it remains unclear how the measure would affect British residents who have also paid a mixture of social security contributions in the UK and Spain.

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Under the post-Brexit social security arrangements, however, periods of contributions in the UK can currently be taken into account alongside Spanish contributions when establishing whether someone is entitled to a pension.

For example, a Briton who has paid social security contributions for 20 years in Spain and 20 years in the UK could have those 40 years taken into account when establishing whether they are entitled to a pension.

Spain would calculate the pension due under the Spanish system, while the UK would separately calculate the person’s UK State Pension based on their National Insurance record.

Tuesday’s vote marked only the first stage in the legislative process. The bill must now go through parliamentary debate, possible amendments and further votes before it can become law.

With the current legislative term nearing its end, there is also a risk that the proposal could fail to complete the process in time.

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Under current legislation, workers in Spain can retire at 65 if they have paid social security contributions for at least 38 years and three months.

If they have fewer than 38 years and three months of contributions, they can still retire, but their ordinary retirement age is 66 years and 10 months.

The amount a worker receives in their monthly pension depends largely on their contribution record and the amount they have paid into the system over their working life.

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