What pension rights do housewives have in Spain?

Although being a housewife or stay-at-home parent is less common nowadays in Spain, there are still around 2.8 million of them according to Spain's Labour Force Survey (EPA).

But the number of housewives or stay at home parents has decreased by 43 percent in Spain since 2002.

Whereas before there may have been a wide age range of housewives, today they’re most commonly women over the age of 70.

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Often, they’ve dedicated their lives to raising children, housework and supporting their partners, giving up the chance of a career and earning their own money.

When the children leave home and partners are retiring however, it’s common to worry about how to support yourself in old age and if you have the right to a pension.

If you are a housewife yourself or have a partner who is one and want to know what rights you have of claiming some type of pension here, then read on.

The minimum number of years you must have worked in Spain (which is the number of years you’ve contributed to social security for) to retire and be able to access a state pension in Spain is 15.

Some housewives may have worked periodically on and off during their lives – perhaps before they had children or when the children were older as they had more time available. If this adds up to 15 years or more, then you too will be eligible for a state pension.

The minimum pension will be based on the amount contribution base for the 25 years prior to retirement and the number of years you worked.

READ ALSO: Why Spain's self-employed get a far lower pension than employees

If you haven’t been employed and therefore haven’t contributed for a total of 15 years, then unfortunately you won’t be entitled to a state contributory pension, you will however, be eligible to apply for a non-contributory pension.

Eligibility

In order to claim a non-contributory pension, you must be:

• At least 65 years old (60 if disabled).
• Be a resident in Spain for a minimum of 10 years.
• Of those 10 years, at least two of them must have been consecutive and in the years immediately before making your application.
• Able to demonstrate that your annual financial income is less than:
  • €7,905.80 per year if you live alone
  • €13,973.92 per year for two people
  • €18,973.92 for three people
  • €24,507.98 for four or more people

These limits are increased if one of the cohabitants is a parent or child of the applicant.

These are:

• €33,599.65 if you live with two people
• €47,434.80 if you live with three people
• €61,269.95 if you live with four people.

The non-contributory retirement pension is not compatitble with disability pensions, welfare pensions, minimum income guarantee subsidies, and third-party assistance subsidies, as well as with the family allowance for dependent children over 18 years of age with a disability of 65 percent or more.

It's worth noting that the non-contributory pension is available to men too, in case you've been a stay-at-home father and it's your wife who has been working while you've been looking after the household and the family.

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Like normal contributory pensions, in Spain non-contributory pensions are tied to inflation and the Consumer Price Index (CPI), to ensure older people don’t lose any purchasing power.

The general non-contributory pension rates in Spain in 2025 are:

• €7,905.80 per year or €564.70 per month.

If you live with another pensioner claiming a non-contributory pension, the amount for each claim would decreases slightly.

Each region is responsible for managing and awarding its non-contributory pension claims.

In order to apply, you must visit your Ministerio de Inclusión, Seguridad Social y Migraciones (INSS) office and complete the application with all the necessary documents within three months before or after you become eligible.

You can access application forms on the government pensions website, and the Spanish government's Instituto de Mayores y Servicios Sociales has a very useful tool with all the addresses and contact details for each office broken down by region and province here.