News is coming for retired people starting next December 25. The entry into force of Royal Decree 739/2026, already published in the Official State Gazette, allows a certain professional sector contribute for the years of work prior to incorporation of the General Social Security Regime. A measure that will allow them to improve the amount of their retirement pension.
The call for elections has caused the elimination of pension reduction coefficients for those who request early retirement to be paralyzed. A bill that, despite having been approved by the Council of Ministers, its processing has been blocked with the early elections. Something that will not happen with the entry into force of the provisions of Royal Decree 739/2026, which will come into force on December 25.
The text published in the BOE represents a change in the legal regime for calculating the years of contributions to the General Social Security Regime for professional athletes who began their activity. before the entry into force of said regime. A measure that will allow them to request a new calculation of their pension, increasing its amount if they meet the established requirements.
It will serve to reach the 15 years necessary to retire
Specifically, this measure seeks to benefit those former athletes who have their habitual residence in Spain and have carried out their sporting activity in the country under a professional contract within the national territory. between March 15, 1980 “until the date of inclusion of the group of athletes to which the person interested in the aforementioned regime belongs.” Said years will become part of the calculation to evaluate the recognition of the benefit and its amount.
As is the case with workers in other sectors, athletes need 15 years of contributions to be able to access a contributory retirement pension. Likewise, at least two of said years must have been completed within the 15 years prior to the application. Therefore, those professionals who do not yet have the necessary minimum period, but have worked for a few years before their discipline was included in the General Regime, they may already reach this minimum.
However, not only those who have not yet applied for retirement can benefit, but also those who are already receiving the pension. To do this, they must take into account the date of incorporation of their discipline into the regime, which may vary between professionals. The earliest were the cyclists, who were integrated on February 1, 1992; followed by professional basketball, on August 1, 1993, and handball, on January 1, 1998.
You may increase the pension of those who are already retired
The rest of the professional athletes were included as of June 1, 2003, with the exception of professional soccer players, who are governed by specific regulations. Therefore, all professional athletes who began their activity, under contract, before these dates, may request a new calculation or review of their pension. Something that could increase the amount they currently receive or reduce the reduction coefficients of those who have requested early retirement.
However, this measure is not applied directly, but rather a series of requirements must be met and various documents must be presented. First of all, for your applicationand must present a certificate issued by the entity or sports club in which the activity was carried out. This document must include the professional status of the athlete and the period in which he continued to carry out his activity.
In the event that the entity is no longer active, you must go to the corresponding sports federation to provide the necessary documentation. The forms that must be filled out in each case are included in the BOE. These will have to be delivered to the National Social Security Institute or INSS, both electronically and in person. Likewise, the cost for said years of contributions will be settled by the Higher Sports Council.