Analysis of the impact of the different forms of active ageing (partial, active, flexible [reversible] and deferred retirement)

Abstract

The extension of working lives and the design of less abrupt transitions between employment and retirement have become central pillars of pension reforms in Spain. This paper examines the incidence and the legal-political rationale of four active-ageing arrangements: partial retirement, active retirement, flexible retirement (and its doctrinal evolution towards a potential “reversible retirement”), and deferred retirement. Drawing on the current regulatory framework and the changes introduced by Royal Decree-Law 11/2024, the study analyses their eligibility requirements, incentive structures, and distributive tensions (who can access them and under what conditions). Recent statistical evidence—covering both the labour market and the pension system—is incorporated to assess whether these arrangements function primarily as mechanisms of sustainability and individual choice or, rather, as selective instruments that amplify pre-existing inequalities in employment trajectories and gender.