Spain issues warning over law change which will affect millions of over-65s Spain has warned people will no longer be able to retire early unless they have a lengthy amount of pension contributions. Spain has warned people will no longer be able to retire early unless they have a lengthy amount of pension contributions. A new Spain retirement rule has been unveiled as 65-year-olds must meet certain criteria. European Union holiday hotspot Spain has warned people will no longer be able to retire early unless they have a lengthy amount of pension contributions. Residents will still be able to retire at 65, but only if they have earned a minimum of 38 years and 3 months of contributions. By 2026, you will have to wait an additional two months. ‌ Spain’s Social Security said the move would help “guarantee the long-term sustainability of the pension system and ensure it continues to provide fair pensions." ‌ READ MORE UK tourists warned 13 items banned from UK even if bought in duty-free It comes as the institute for actuaries in Spain warned that the difference between what people contribute and what they receive "has continued to worsen over the last five years", reports Sur in English. ‌ The report stated: "The reforms undertaken in 2021 and 2023 have been insufficient and have failed to curb the growing imbalance between the actuarial present value of the pension income a person receives in retirement and the actuarial present value of the pension contributions they have made during their working career." In 2025 the ordinary retirement age will be 66 years and 8 months, while in 2020 it was 65 years and 10 months. At the same time, the ordinary retirement age remains at 65 years for working careers of 38 years and 3 months or more in 2025, whereas 37 years was sufficient in 2020. The actuarial equity factor (the euros a pensioner receives for each euro contributed) will rise to 2.14 in 2045 and 2.20 in 2065 due, once again, to the fact that people will continue to live increasingly longer and also that the economic forecasts are less promising. Article continues below They argue for the need to adopt automatic pension adjustments linked to life expectancy and economic growth along the lines of what other European countries have done.