Spain pension contributions: check your record and the correct convenio especial

Systems covered: Seguridad Social, RETA and convenios especiales.

Use the right contribution base and payer breakdown

Employees in the general scheme have contributions for common contingencies, alongside other items such as unemployment, vocational training and the intergenerational equity mechanism. Employers pay their own shares and employer-funded items such as occupational accident insurance and FOGASA. Self-employed workers have a separate RETA framework. Do not apply a combined employee-and-employer percentage to your own take-home cost. Importass provides a worker contribution calculation that separates the employee and company amounts. Its contribution-base report shows the insured earnings basis; for people responsible for their own payments, that basis may appear even when the contribution remains unpaid.

Correct records or identify an expressly permitted historical payment

Compare your vida laboral with the contribution-base report and request additions or corrections through Importass when the information is wrong. A missing period is not automatically available to buy. One specific route concerns qualifying past internships and training: the official service requires certificates showing the dates and whether the activity was paid, and the recognised periods depend on the training category. The application window currently runs to 31 December 2028. Ask TGSS to confirm which dates qualify, the amount due and when rights take effect. Do not treat an internship agreement as a remedy for every employment gap.

An ordinary special agreement preserves only defined coverage

The ordinary convenio especial can apply after stopping work or in certain other listed situations, including some changes to lower-paid work. It has prior-contribution requirements and a filing deadline linked to the event that permits the agreement. Filing promptly can affect the possible start date. Its protection concerns retirement and specified permanent-disability and survivors' benefits; it does not reproduce every benefit connected with active employment. Have TGSS identify the correct agreement, permitted contribution base, monthly cost and termination rules. A person with caring duties, overseas work or a historical internship may need a different route.

Match tax relief to the payment and the tax year

The tax agency treats Social Security contributions as deductible expenses when calculating net employment income; eligible self-employed contributions follow the business-income rules. Its August 2026 guidance specifically assigns qualifying historical internship contribution payments to the tax year in which payment is made, rather than the old internship years. A deduction does not equal a cash refund. Retain the agreement decision, bank receipts, payroll tax certificate and relevant tax return. Obtain confirmation for your own income category, residence status and payment year, particularly where contributions are adjusted or refunded later. Count only the verified reduction in tax in a cost comparison.

Which step should you take next?

1. If employment dates or contribution bases are wrong, request an Importass correction with the relevant evidence before applying for any additional-payment route.
2. If a special agreement may apply, ask TGSS to confirm its category, qualifying history, eligible dates, deadline, covered benefits and payment schedule.
3. If tax relief is available, match it to the actual payment year and use the confirmed tax reduction; keep employer payments out of your personal cost.

Compare your contribution costs →

What the cost calculator needs

Use Importass Consulta de cálculos de cuotas para trabajador, payslips and paid TGSS receipts for your own cost. A bases de cotización report is not a receipt and can include unpaid obligations. Use the tax assessment or a confirmed AEAT calculation for the tax saving. Enter employer amounts and verified subsidies separately; obtain the pension forecast through the official pension service.

It adds confirmed payment amounts and separates cash tax savings from funding paid by others. It does not calculate statutory liability from salary, buy contribution years, choose an insurance product or predict pension entitlement.