Spain adds 11 conditions to early retirement for disabled workers

Royal Decree 632/2026 lets around 50,000 workers with a disability of 45% or more retire from age 56, in force since 31 July.

What changed in Spain

Spain has added 11 conditions to its early retirement route for disabled workers. The Council of Ministers approved the change on 28 July 2026.

Spain published the Royal Decree, Real Decreto 632/2026, in the Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE, Spain's official state gazette) on 30 July 2026.

The measure changes the annex to Real Decreto 1851/2009. It allows around 50,000 workers with a disability of 45% or more to retire from age 56.

The 11 new conditions

The new conditions added to the annex are:

• Spina bifida
• Variant transthyretin amyloidosis
• Parkinson's disease
• Myotonic dystrophy type 1, Steinert disease
• Huntington's disease
• Systemic sclerosis
• Spinal cord injury
• Corticobasal degeneration
• Multiple system atrophy
• Progressive supranuclear palsy
• Chronic kidney disease, stage G5

The spinal cord injury entry now covers traumatic injury and non-traumatic injury. Traumatic injury was already recognised.

The decree also creates a new annex category called systemic diseases. It includes systemic sclerosis and stage G5 chronic kidney disease.

Who can use this route

This route covers employees and self-employed workers in any régimen de la Seguridad Social (Social Security scheme).

You must prove effective work time equal to at least the minimum contribution period needed for an old-age pension. During that time, you must have been affected by one of the conditions in the annex.

At least five years within that period must show a disability degree of 45% or more. The disability must come from one of the same conditions.

Age and legal basis

For this route, the minimum retirement age is exceptionally 56. This is a fixed age, not a reduction coefficient.

The legal basis is article 206 bis of the General Social Security Law. The consolidated Real Decreto 1851/2009 develops this route and contains the annex.

Documents and application

A medical report must state when the condition started or became apparent. You must prove the disability degree with a certificación del IMSERSO (IMSERSO certificate) or a certificate from the relevant regional authority.

Contact Spain's Social Security service, the Seguridad Social, about the solicitud de pensión de jubilación (old-age pension application) and jubilación anticipada por razón de discapacidad (early retirement due to disability). The application is free of charge.

When the change starts

Real Decreto 632/2026 entered into force on 31 July 2026. This was the day after its BOE publication.

A Technical Commission proposed the additions. It included medical and scientific staff and representatives of organisations for people with disability-causing conditions.

The procedure follows Order ISM/444/2025, of 30 April. The Dirección General de Ordenación de la Seguridad Social (DGOSS) ruled on each condition on 23 January 2026.

The annex is an open list. Authorities can review it periodically and add further conditions. You can read the Ministry's announcement and the full Real Decreto 632/2026.

Not a SEPE benefit

This is a Social Security pension, not a SEPE unemployment benefit. If you need a Spanish Social Security number, see our separate guide.

For unrelated unemployment support, read about unemployment benefits in Spain or the unemployment subsidy in Spain.