Spanish General Social Security Act: complete guide 2026 | BMC

Q: Who must affiliate with Social Security and what is the deadline for registering a worker?

Articles 13 to 19 LGSS govern affiliation and registration. Affiliation is compulsory for all workers within the scope of the system, is unique and lifelong. Registration in the General Regime is the employer's responsibility, who must notify the worker's registration to Social Security prior to the start of the employment relationship (art. 16.1 LGSS). The Social Security Treasury (TGSS) may register the worker of its own motion where the employer has not done so, with the consequences provided for out-of-time registration. Failure to comply with the obligation to affiliate and register constitutes a serious infringement in Social Security matters.

Q: How are the employer's Social Security contributions calculated?

Contributions (arts. 140-151 LGSS) are calculated by applying the contribution rates to the worker's contribution bases. The contribution base for common contingencies has a minimum equivalent to the professional group's minimum wage and a maximum updated annually by the Budget Act. In 2026, the maximum monthly contribution base stands at around €4,909 (updated by RDL 3/2026 incorporating the 2.8% pension revaluation). The employer's quota comprises: common contingencies (23.60%), unemployment (5.50% for indefinite contracts, 6.70% for fixed-term), FOGASA (0.20%), vocational training (0.60%) and, where applicable, additional quotas for overtime. The worker, for their part, contributes at 4.70% for common contingencies, 1.55% for unemployment and 0.10% for vocational training.

Q: What are the RETA contribution bases for self-employed workers in 2026?

Since the reform under Ley 14/2022 (which came into force on 1 January 2023), self-employed workers contribute under the RETA based on their estimated net annual income, not on a freely chosen base. The tiered contribution system (arts. 307-309 LGSS as amended) establishes 15 tiers ranging from a minimum monthly contribution of approximately €200 for net income below €670, to contributions above €530 for net income above €6,000 per month. Self-employed workers may change their contribution base up to six times per year. At year-end, if actual income differs from the estimate, the TGSS adjusts the contributions paid in excess or below. The reform sets a transitional period until 2025, with progressive adaptation.

Q: How many years must one contribute in Spain to be entitled to a retirement pension?

Articles 205-213 LGSS govern the contributory retirement pension. In 2026, access to the ordinary retirement pension requires reaching the age of 66 years and 8 months (the retirement age is in a transitional period until it reaches 67 years in 2027) and proving a minimum of fifteen years of contributions, at least two of which must fall within the fifteen years immediately preceding the trigger event. The amount of the pension is calculated on the regulatory base (average of contribution bases over the last twenty-five years), applying a percentage that varies according to years contributed: 100% from 37 years of contributions (or 36 years and 6 months for retirement at 65). Early voluntary retirement may be requested two years earlier, with a reduction in the pension.

Q: What Social Security benefits does the worker receive when unemployed?

Articles 264-299 LGSS govern unemployment benefits. The contributory benefit requires the worker to have contributed for at least 360 days in the last six years and to be in a state of legal unemployment for reasons beyond their control (dismissal, ERE, end of fixed-term contract). The duration of the benefit ranges from 120 days (if 360 to 539 days of contributions are proved) to 720 days (if more than 2,160 days are proved). The amount is 70% of the regulatory base for the first 180 days and 60% from day 181. When the contributory benefit is exhausted, the unemployment subsidy (assistance benefit) may be accessed if the income and family burden requirements in article 274 LGSS are met.

Q: What obligations does the employer have towards Social Security in respect of their workers?

The employer's main obligations (arts. 18-22 LGSS) are: registering with Social Security as an employer before beginning activity; affiliating and registering workers prior to the start of the employment relationship; making monthly contributions through the Direct Liquidation System (SLD/Cret@); paying employer and employee quotas within the established deadlines (ordinarily before the last day of the month following accrual); processing sick leave, discharge and confirmation forms; and reporting workplace accidents through the Delta platform. Failure to comply is classified as a serious or very serious infringement under Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2000 (LISOS).

Q: What is the Wage Guarantee Fund (FOGASA) and when does it intervene?

FOGASA (arts. 33 ET read with the LGSS Chapter IX articles) is an autonomous body that guarantees, through employer contributions (0.20% of the contribution base), the payment of wages and dismissal compensation when the company has been declared insolvent or is in insolvency proceedings. FOGASA pays outstanding wages up to the limit of twice the SMI for the last 120 days, and dismissal, substantial modification, geographical mobility and contract termination compensation up to the limit of one annual salary, with the daily salary not exceeding twice the SMI. In companies with fewer than 25 workers, FOGASA directly pays 40% of the statutory unfair dismissal compensation even when the company is not insolvent.

Q: How does a worker's temporary incapacity affect the employer's contribution obligations?

During temporary incapacity (IT), the worker receives the benefit from the managing body or the Mutual Insurance Society from the fourth day of sick leave (or from the first day in workplace accidents). The employer pays the benefit for the first three days without right to reimbursement for common illness, and offsets it in settlement receipts from the fourth to the fifteenth day. From the sixteenth day, the managing body takes over payment. However, the employer continues to pay contributions throughout the IT as if the worker were active (albeit on reduced bases for part-time workers). Article 144 LGSS governs contribution allocation during IT periods.

Q: What are professional contingencies and how does the employer contribute for them?

Professional contingencies — workplace accidents and occupational diseases — are governed by articles 156-177 LGSS. Contributions for professional contingencies are borne entirely by the employer (no employee quota) and are calculated by applying the premium rates set out in Additional Provision 4 of the Budget Act to the worker's professional contingency contribution base. Rates range from 0.9% for offices and low-risk jobs to 6.7% for high-risk activities (construction, mining, industry). The employer may join a Social Security Cooperative Mutual Insurance Society, which manages IT benefits for professional contingencies and occupational disease prevention.

Royal Legislative Decree 8/2015, of 30 October, approving the Consolidated Text of the General Social Security Act (LGSS) is the statute articulating the public social protection system in Spain. For any company with employees, the LGSS is not an abstract rule: it determines how much must be paid to Social Security each month, what happens if it is not paid, what protection the worker who becomes ill, unemployed or retires receives, and what liability the employer assumes if they fail to comply with their obligations. For the self-employed worker, the LGSS sets the conditions under which they contribute and the benefits to which they are entitled.

The LGSS organises the Social Security system around two main pillars:

General Regime

The General Regime (arts. 136-203 LGSS) covers employed workers providing services within the national territory. Its scope is the broadest: private sector employees, civil servants in certain circumstances and domestic workers (albeit with specialties).

Special regimes

The LGSS provides for several special regimes for groups with specific characteristics:

RETA (Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers): arts. 305-347 LGSS.
Special Regime for the Sea: workers in the fishing and maritime sector.
Special Regime for Coal Mining: due to its specific arduousness and hazard.
Special System for Domestic Workers: integrated into the General Regime since 2012 with contribution and benefit specialties.
Special System for Agricultural Workers: integrated into the General Regime for employed agricultural workers.

Affiliation and registration: articles 13 to 19 LGSS

Affiliation

Affiliation (art. 15 LGSS) is the administrative act by which the TGSS recognises the worker as included in the Social Security system’s scope. It is a unique and lifelong act: once affiliated, the worker retains their Social Security number throughout their working life, even if they change regime or employer.

Registration

Registration (art. 16 LGSS) is the specific act recognising that the worker is in active employment and therefore subject to contributions and entitled to protective coverage. The employer is obliged to notify the worker’s registration prior to the start of services through the RED System or the TGSS electronic office.

Office registration and employer liability

If the employer does not process registration, the TGSS may register of its own motion (art. 18 LGSS). Failure to register has significant consequences: if the worker suffers a workplace accident or becomes ill, the employer is liable for the benefits that would have been paid by the Mutual Insurance Society or the INSS, on a joint or subsidiary basis depending on the circumstances. This direct employer liability for failure to affiliate or register is one of the system’s most effective guarantee mechanisms.

Contributions: articles 140 to 151 LGSS

Contribution bases

The contribution base (art. 147 LGSS) comprises the worker’s total remuneration, including base salary, salary supplements, overtime and payments in kind. Certain items expressly listed in article 109 LGSS are excluded: documented travel expenses, subsistence allowances within regulatory limits, Social Security benefits and voluntary improvements that do not constitute salary.

Contribution bases have a minimum (equivalent to the contribution group’s minimum wage) and a maximum updated annually by the General Budget Act or equivalent legislative instrument. In 2026, the maximum monthly contribution base for common contingencies stands at €4,909.50, following the update in RDL 3/2026 incorporating the 2.8% pension revaluation.

Contribution rates

Contribution rates are split between the employer and the worker. The employer’s quota for common contingencies is 23.60%, while the worker contributes at 4.70%. In addition to common contingencies, employer and worker contribute separately for unemployment, vocational training, FOGASA and, for certain groups, overtime. Contributions for professional contingencies (workplace accidents and occupational diseases) are entirely borne by the employer and vary by activity.

Settlement and payment through the SLD/Cret@

Since its introduction in 2015, the Direct Liquidation System (Cret@) has replaced the previous self-assessment system. The TGSS proposes monthly contribution data to the employer based on payroll information provided. The employer reviews, confirms or corrects it, and pays the resulting amount before the last day of the month following the month of accrual. Late payment generates surcharges: 10% if paid within the following month, and 20% thereafter, plus default interest.

Economic benefits of the system

Temporary incapacity (arts. 169-176 LGSS)

The temporary incapacity benefit covers periods of common illness, non-occupational accident, workplace accident and occupational disease. The amount varies by contingency: 60% of the regulatory base from the fourth to the twentieth day, 75% from the twenty-first, for common contingencies; or 75% from the first day, for professional contingencies. The maximum period is 365 days, extendable by up to a further 180 days where recovery is expected.

Maternity, paternity and work-life balance (arts. 177-182 LGSS)

The benefit for the birth and care of a minor (commonly “maternity” or “paternity” leave) covers the period of contract suspension: 16 weeks for each parent on a non-transferable basis, extended in the case of multiple births or the minor’s disability. The benefit equals 100% of the regulatory base.

Retirement pension (arts. 205-213 LGSS)

The contributory retirement pension in 2026 requires reaching 66 years and 8 months of age (or 65 years if 37 years and 9 months of contributions are proved) and a minimum of 15 years of contributions. The regulatory base is calculated as the average of contribution bases over the last twenty-five years, divided by 350 (monthly proration coefficient). The applicable percentage on the regulatory base ranges from 50% with 15 years of contributions to 100% with 37 years (in 2026, in the transitional period). The guaranteed minimum pension varies according to the pensioner’s family situation.

Permanent incapacity (arts. 193-202 LGSS)

Permanent incapacity is recognised when, after medical discharge or after the IT period has elapsed, the worker presents serious anatomical or functional reductions that reduce or eliminate their working capacity. The degrees are: partial permanent incapacity (reduces performance by one third), total (prevents habitual work), absolute (prevents all work) and severe (requires personal assistance for essential life activities). The amount ranges from 55% of the regulatory base for total incapacity to 100% for absolute incapacity, with a 45% supplement for severe incapacity.

Unemployment benefits (arts. 264-299 LGSS)

The right to contributory unemployment benefit (art. 266 LGSS) requires:

Being in a state of legal unemployment (dismissal, end of fixed-term contract, ERE).
Having contributed for unemployment for a minimum of 360 days in the last 6 years.
Not having reached ordinary retirement age.

The amount is 70% of the regulatory base for the first 180 days and 60% from day 181. The regulatory base is the average of unemployment contribution bases over the last 180 days.

The Special Self-Employed Workers Regime (RETA): articles 305 to 347 LGSS

Scope

Article 305 LGSS defines a self-employed worker as a person who habitually, personally, directly, on their own account and outside the direction and organisation of another person, carries on a profit-making economic or professional activity. Habitualness is the distinguishing criterion from the occasional worker, although case law has qualified this concept based on income obtained.

Income-based contribution system (since 2023)

Ley 14/2022 amended articles 307-309 LGSS to replace the freely chosen base system with contributions proportional to net income. The new system establishes 15 income tiers with monthly contributions ranging from approximately €200 (for annual net income below €670 per month) to contributions above €530 (for net income exceeding €6,000 per month). The self-employed worker selects quarterly the contribution base closest to their estimated income and, at the end of the tax year, the TGSS adjusts differences.

Protective coverage for the self-employed

Article 316 LGSS provides the self-employed worker with the same protective coverage as the General Regime worker, with the following specialties:

Temporary incapacity for common contingencies: the benefit is managed by the Mutual Insurance Society if the self-employed worker has opted into this. The worker may choose which Mutual Society manages IT and occupational disease.
Cessation-of-activity benefit (equivalent to unemployment): to access it, the self-employed worker must have contributed for this contingency for at least twelve continuous months, and prove involuntary cessation (for economic, technical, force majeure reasons, etc.) through documentation varying by reason.
Retirement pension: calculated in the same way as the General Regime, although periods of contribution at the minimum base may result in lower pensions when the regulatory base is calculated.

Combining self-employment with a retirement pension (art. 319 LGSS)

Article 319 LGSS allows combining self-employed work with an active retirement pension, provided the self-employed worker has at least one worker in their employment. The compatible pension is 50% of the recognised pension, unless full active retirement at 100% is recognised where the activity is maintained with the hiring of new workers as established by regulation.

Liability on business transfer

Article 44.3 of the Workers’ Statute, read with the LGSS, establishes the joint and several liability of the new employer for the transferor’s Social Security debts in business transfer cases. To limit this liability, the acquirer may request a certificate of arrears from the TGSS before the transfer; timely issuance with a clean result releases the acquirer from prior debts not declared in the certificate.

Liability of directors

The TGSS may derive liability for contribution debts to company directors in cases of very serious infringement provided for in article 23 LISOS (Real Decreto Legislativo 5/2000) where the company committed those infringements with the director’s involvement or through their omission. The derivation procedure requires an administrative file with a hearing for the interested party.

How we can help

Social Security contribution and affiliation obligations are recurring, high-frequency and have direct consequences for labour costs and employer liability. An error in a worker’s contribution base, or a delayed registration, can generate debts with surcharges, subsidiary liability for benefits and administrative sanctions.

At BMC we comprehensively manage our clients’ labour and Social Security obligations: from worker registration and payroll management under the SLD/Cret@, to defence in Labour Inspection sanction proceedings and representation in appeals before the TGSS.

Our employment law, payroll and HR management and HR services provide a comprehensive service guaranteeing compliance with Social Security obligations with maximum efficiency.

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Structure of the Social Security system