Self-employed workers can receive two pensions but must have a total of 15 years of contributions

Self-employed workers can receive two retirement pensions at the same time, but it’s not as simple as it seems. A key requirement must be met: at least 15 years of contributions to each system, and these contributions must go hand in hand.

Social Security regulates this right and the conditions to be able to receive two different retirement pensions. Everyone talks about earning more, but here the law puts the brakes on the party.

Requirements to receive two retirement pensions

Being self-employed and contributing to two systems

The self-employed who contribute both to the special self-employed scheme (RETA) and the general scheme may be entitled to two retirement pensions, as long as they meet the requirements of each scheme separately.

The law establishes that a minimum contribution of 15 years must be accredited in each system. Of these, at least two must have been contributed in the last 15 years before retirement.

Cases of overlapping contributions

If the self-employed is not registered in both systems at the same time, the contributions must have been simultaneous for at least 15 years. This means that contributing 15 years to one scheme and 15 to the other at different times does not count; they must coincide temporally.

This prevents pensions from being accumulated for periods that have not overlapped, thus limiting double reception.

How the amount of each pension is calculated

Calculation methods of the regulatory base

The regulatory base, which determines the pension amount, is calculated with two possible formulas. The one most favorable to the pensioner must be chosen:

• Divide by 350 the sum of the last 300 contribution bases.
• Divide by 352.33 the sum of the 302 highest bases of the last 304.

This base is different for the self-employed, who only consider six months of fictitious bases for non-contributory periods, whereas those in the general scheme consider 48 months.

Percentages according to years contributed

The percentage of the regulatory base to which one is entitled depends on the years contributed:

• With 15 years contributed, 50% is paid.
• For each additional month up to 49 months, 0.21% more is added.
• For the following 209 months, 0.19% per month is added.

But the sum of the two pensions can never exceed 3,359.60 euros per month, which is the maximum limit in effect in 2026.

What happens if the requirements for two pensions are not met?

Sum of contributions to determine the regulatory base

If the worker is not entitled to two pensions, the contributions from the schemes in which the requirements are not met are accumulated to calculate the regulatory base in the scheme where they do have the right to retire.

This ensures that the contributed time is not lost, but rather serves to improve the pension of a single scheme.

Pension according to the registered scheme

The pensioner will receive the pension from the scheme in which they are registered or in an assimilated situation at the time of retirement entitlement.

Therefore, even if two separate pensions are not received, what has been contributed in other schemes is not lost.

The rules are not meant to give away, but to set limits for those who thought they could hoard pensions endlessly.