The Council of Ministers has approved a measure that expands the list of illnesses that qualify for early retirement due to disability . The reform, approved this Tuesday by Royal Decree, adds eleven new conditions to the annex of Royal Decree 1851/2009, which regulates the reduction of the retirement age for workers with a disability rating of 45% or higher. According to the Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, the measure will benefit approximately 50.000 people, who will be able to retire at age 56 without any reduction in their pension amount.
The regulation, which will come into effect the day after its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE), concludes an update process that had been pending for years . Since 2009, the list of illnesses that entitle individuals to this type of early retirement had not been modified. Now, following the work of a technical committee made up of medical specialists, scientists, and representatives from organizations such as the Carlos III Health Institute, the National Social Security Institute (INSS), the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (Imserso), and the National Disability Council, eleven new illnesses have been added that, due to their severity and the reduction in life expectancy they cause, justify early retirement.
The eleven new pathologies included
The new annex to Royal Decree 1851/2009 includes the following pathologies: spina bifida, variant transthyretin amyloidosis, Parkinson's disease, myotonic dystrophy type 1 (Steinert's disease), Huntington's disease, systemic sclerosis, spinal cord injury, corticobasal degeneration, multiple system atrophy, progressive supranuclear palsy, and stage G5 chronic kidney disease. These are mostly neurodegenerative, rare, or progressive diseases that typically diminish work capacity well before the standard retirement age. The Minister of Inclusion, Elma Saiz, emphasized that "thousands of people suffering from serious illnesses that affect their ability to work will be able to benefit from this government decision."
Requirements and conditions of access
Simply being diagnosed with one of these diseases is not enough. To access early retirement at age 56, workers must meet a series of requirements. First, they must be registered or in a situation equivalent to registration with Social Security at the time of applying for the pension. Furthermore, they must have at least 15 years of contributions throughout their working life and, within that period, have been affected by the condition for a minimum of five years, with a degree of disability equal to or greater than 45%. The regulations also require a medical report specifying the date of onset or manifestation of the disease, a point that can be critical in the case of slowly developing conditions.
Economic protection and the upgrading process
One of the main advantages of this option is that early retirement does not entail any reduction in the pension amount . Unlike other early retirement schemes, no reduction coefficients are applied here. The time by which the retirement age is reduced is counted as time worked for the purpose of calculating the percentage applied to the regulatory base, thus guaranteeing that the final amount is not affected. The technical committee that evaluated the applications for inclusion is chaired by the Directorate General for the Organization of Social Security (DGOSS) and composed of the Carlos III Health Institute, the Forensic Medical Council, the Spanish Society of Internal Medicine, the National Social Security Institute (INSS), the Institute for the Elderly and Social Services (Imserso), and the National Disability Council. This body studied each condition and issued favorable reports for the eleven that were ultimately approved. The procedure for updating the annex remains permanently open, so that future technical committees can incorporate new diseases when there is sufficient scientific evidence regarding the reduction in life expectancy.
Reactions from social organizations
Both the Spanish Confederation of People with Physical and Organic Disabilities (COCEMFE) and the Spanish Committee of Representatives of People with Disabilities (CERMI) have welcomed the approval of the Royal Decree. The president of COCEMFE, Anxo Queiruga, described the measure as “a historic step forward in the protection of rights” and emphasized that “it demonstrates that when the disability rights movement provides scientific evidence, it is possible to advance rights that improve people's lives.” For its part, CERMI noted that the list of pathologies had not been updated since 2009 and that this reform is the result of close dialogue with the Ministry. Both organizations announced that they have already submitted reports to include six more diseases—rheumatoid arthritis, Friedrich's ataxia, systemic lupus erythematosus, familial spastic paraparesis, myalgic encephalomyelitis, and SCA3 ataxia—and will continue working to ensure the catalog is progressively expanded.
With the new regulation now in effect, eligible workers can apply to the Social Security Administration. This measure represents a significant step towards equal rights for people with disabilities, allowing for a dignified retirement without financial penalties for those whose working lives have been impacted by serious illnesses. The open-ended legal annex ensures that, as science provides new evidence, more conditions can be added to this right, consolidating a fairer social protection system better adapted to the realities of workers with disabilities.