Up to 5 Years of Service: How Former Interns Can Boost Their Pension in Spain. Spain's Social Security has allowed the addition of up to 1,825 days of service for unpaid past internships. This is an opportunity for former students and interns to increase their future pension by signing a special agreement before the end of 2028.
Former students and interns in Spain can now reclaim up to five years of work experience if their internships took place without official contributions to the Seguridad Social system. This period can now be added to their employment record, increasing their future pension amount.
This applies to those who completed academic or professional internships before 2024, as well as internships finished before November 1, 2011. Previously, such periods were not accounted for in pension calculations, depriving many young professionals of part of their work history.
How to add additional years to your employment record
To add up to 1,825 days (5 years) to your work experience, you must personally apply to the Tesorería General de la Seguridad Social and sign a special agreement. This process does not start automatically—you must submit the request yourself.
You can do this until December 31, 2028. Keep in mind: you can only sign this agreement once, and review of your application can take up to six months. Therefore, it is not recommended to postpone your application.
How much does it cost
Reclaiming work experience is not free. The cost depends on the internship period and ranges from about 40 to 140 euros for each month you want to count. The calculation is based on the minimum contribution base for group 7 at the time of the internship, and the final amount is reduced by a factor of 0.77.
Who is eligible
The right to restore work experience is granted to former university students, vocational college students, as well as participants in research and educational programs—both in Spain and abroad. It is important that the internship was unpaid or not part of an employment contract.
Those who have already added two years of experience under the previous 2011 rules can also take advantage of this new opportunity, but only within the overall limit—not more than five years.
What documents are needed
A certificate from the university or educational center where the internship took place must be attached to the application. The document should specify the start and end dates, and indicate whether the internship was paid.
If the internship was paid, the certificate must include the exact dates. For unpaid internships it is sufficient to indicate the duration, or, if there are no exact dates, the semester period.
How to make payments
The amount can be paid in full—within a month after signing the agreement, or in installments. In this case, the maximum number of payments is 84, and the payment period can be twice as long as the number of months you want to purchase.
According to Talent24h, this measure could be a real chance for thousands of former students to increase their future pension and fill gaps in their work history. It is important to carefully study the conditions and not to delay the application process until the last minute.
