The table of reduction coefficients for voluntary early retirement in 2026: how much you lose if you stop working between 1 and 24 months earlier
Voluntary early retirement is once again among the most useful searches for thousands of workers in 2026. The reason is simple: retiring early is still possible, but doing so has a price.
The Social Security applies monthly reduction coefficients on the pension based on the time you advance retirement and on the years you have contributed.
In practice, the cut can range from 2.81% to 21%.
In 2026, the ordinary retirement age is 65 years for those who can prove at least 38 years and 3 months of contributions, and 66 years and 10 months for those who do not reach that period.
Voluntary early retirement allows advancing that moment by a maximum of two years. Therefore, the real minimum age remains at 63 years if you exceed 38 years and 3 months of contributions, or at 64 years and 10 months if you have contributed less.
Official table of reducing coefficients of voluntary early retirement in 2026
Below, the complete table with the reducing coefficients for voluntary early retirement.
| Reducing coefficients in voluntary early retirement (%) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Months by which retirement is brought forward | A Less than 38 years and 6 months | B Equal to or greater than 38 years and 6 months and less than 41 years and 6 months | C Equal to or greater than 41 years and 6 months and less than 44 years and 6 months | D Equal to or greater than 44 years and 6 months |
| 24 | 21,00 | 19,00 | 17,00 | 13,00 |
| 23 | 17,60 | 16,50 | 15,00 | 12,00 |
| 22 | 14,67 | 14,00 | 13,33 | 11,00 |
| 21 | 12,57 | 12,00 | 11,43 | 10,00 |
| 20 | 11,00 | 10,50 | 10,00 | 9,20 |
| 19 | 9,78 | 9,33 | 8,89 | 8,40 |
| 18 | 8,80 | 8,40 | 8,00 | 7,60 |
| 17 | 8,00 | 7,64 | 7,27 | 6,91 |
| 16 | 7,33 | 7,00 | 6,67 | 6,33 |
| 15 | 7,00 | 6,46 | 6,15 | 5,83 |
| 14 | 6,29 | 6,00 | 5,71 | 5,43 |
| 13 | 5,87 | 5,60 | 5,33 | 5,07 |
| 12 | 5,50 | 5,25 | 5,00 | 4,75 |
| 11 | 5,18 | 4,94 | 4,71 | 4,47 |
| 10 | 4,89 | 4,67 | 4,44 | 4,22 |
| 9 | 4,63 | 4,42 | 4,21 | 4,00 |
| 8 | 4,40 | 4,20 | 4,00 | 3,80 |
| 7 | 4,19 | 4,00 | 3,81 | 3,61 |
| 6 | 4,00 | 3,82 | 3,64 | 3,45 |
| 5 | 3,83 | 3,65 | 3,48 | 3,30 |
| 4 | 3,67 | 3,50 | 3,33 | 3,17 |
| 3 | 3,52 | 3,36 | 3,20 | 3,04 |
| 2 | 3,38 | 3,23 | 3,08 | 2,92 |
| 1 | 3,26 | 3,11 | 2,96 | 2,81 |
Notes:
A: less than 38 years and 6 months.
B: equal to or greater than 38 years and 6 months and less than 41 years and 6 months.
C: equal to or greater than 41 years and 6 months and less than 44 years and 6 months.
D: equal to or greater than 44 years and 6 months.
Who this early retirement affects in 2026
This modality affects workers included in any of the Social Security regimes who wish to retire by their own decision before the ordinary age and meet several requirements. The first is to be a maximum of two years away from the legal age that applies to you. The second is to prove at least 35 years of effective contributions.
Of that total, at least two years must be within the 15 immediately preceding the moment of your retirement. In addition, the period of compulsory military service, substitute social service, or female social service may count with a maximum limit of one year.
In the case of workers in the special agricultural system for employed persons, Social Security also requires that, within the last 10 years of contributions, at least 6 are of effective activity in that special system.
And there is one last key filter: after applying the reduction coefficients, the resulting pension must be higher than the minimum pension that would correspond to you for your family situation upon turning 65 years old. If it does not exceed that threshold, this early retirement formula cannot be accessed.
How much they cut your pension in 2026 if you retire earlier
The reduction applies for each month or fraction of a month that you are short of reaching your legal retirement age. The more you advance the withdrawal, the greater the cut will be. And the more you have contributed, the smaller the blow usually is. The official table of the Social Security for voluntary early retirement sets four contribution brackets and 24 possible advances, from one month up to two full years.
The maximum penalty occurs when you advance retirement by 24 months and have contributed less than 38 years and 6 months: in that case, the reduction is 21%. At the opposite extreme, if you only advance one month and have contributed 44 years and 6 months or more, the cut drops to 2.81%. Between both extremes there is a whole intermediate scale that it is advisable to review in detail before making the decision.
What to do if it affects you and you are thinking of stopping work earlier
The first thing is to check your real working life and confirm in which contribution bracket you are, because a few months can change the applicable coefficient.
The second thing is to check what your exact ordinary age is in 2026, since it is not the same for everyone. The third thing is to simulate the pension before submitting the application, to verify if, after the cut, you still exceed the minimum required pension.
Social Security itself recommends using the retirement simulator of “Your Social Security” to make that preliminary calculation.
It is also advisable to be clear about the timing of the application. According to official information, it can be submitted on the same day of the cessation of employment and also within three months before or after the expected date, with the corresponding economic effects.
Translated: before taking the step, the smartest thing is not to jump in blindly, but to check month by month how much you really lose and if it's worth leaving now or waiting a few more weeks. Sometimes, a single month changes quite a bit more than it seems.