Spain unblocks partial retirement for 700,000 public-sector workers after year-long freeze

Background

The blockade began when Royal Decree-Law 11/2024, the result of a pension agreement between the government and the CCOO and UGT unions, required that any worker replacing a partially retired employee be hired on a permanent, full-time contract. For public administrations, this clashed with constitutional principles of equality, merit, and capacity, as permanent posts must go through lengthy public employment offers. The result: from April 2025 onward, thousands of labor employees across all levels of government, an estimated 700,000 workers in town halls, autonomous communities, and universities, were unable to exercise their right to partial retirement despite having earned it.

The government adopted decisions that ignored the specificity of public employment and the constitutional principles that govern it, creating a scenario deeply damaging for thousands of public labor employees who, despite having the right to partial retirement recognized, have been prevented in practice from exercising it.

The reversal

The royal decree-law approved on Monday by the Council of Ministers, under the Ministry of Public Function, allows administrations to use temporary replacement contracts when indefinite hiring is not immediately possible. The posts will later be incorporated into formal public employment offers and filled permanently. The measure covers all public labor employees, going beyond an earlier June 2026 move that reactivated partial retirements only for those covered by the Fourth Single Agreement of the General State Administration.

Union reactions

CSIF, which had pressed for changes through courts, parliamentary initiatives, and a solo protest outside the Treasury Ministry on 11 June, attributed the breakthrough to sustained pressure. The union noted that courts had ruled the original regulation had not accounted for public-sector hiring constraints. CCOO welcomed the step but warned that the problem "is far from being totally resolved." The union also called on the government to follow through on earlier commitments, including a partial retirement scheme for civil servants and statutory staff still lacking a clear framework.

The partial retirement was a right blocked in the last pension reform, which did not take into account the personnel selection requirements of public administrations.

How partial retirement works

Under the system, employees who have not reached the ordinary retirement age may reduce their working hours, between 25% and 75% for most cases, or 20% to 33% in the first year if retiring more than two years early, and receive a proportional salary plus a proportional pension. Eligible workers must be retiring three years before the normal age, have 33 years of contributions, and six years of seniority immediately before the date of partial retirement.

Parliamentary next steps

The royal decree-law must now be validated by Parliament within one month. The measure had been agreed with the majority unions months ago but its approval was delayed amid a broader negotiation package that also included widower's pensions for unregistered domestic partnerships with children and a special temporary incapacity benefit for cancer patients. Those additional measures were not included this time, leaving the partial retirement unblocking to proceed alone.