Seguridad Social (Spanish social security)

Spain's social-insurance scheme — 6.5% employee contribution on brut up to the base máxima, then a small solidarity levy above it.

Seguridad Social is Spain's social-insurance scheme — funds public health care, the state pension, and unemployment benefit (paro). For an employee on a standard contract, the combined employee share is 6.5% of brut earnings: 4.7% for the contingencias comunes (pension + sickness), 1.55% for desempleo (unemployment), 0.1% for Formación Profesional, and 0.15% for the MEI (Mecanismo de Equidad Intergeneracional).

The 6.5% applies up to the annual base máxima — €61,214.40 in 2026 (€5,101.20/month) — above which ordinary contributions stop. Earnings above the cap are not free of charge, though: the cotización adicional de solidaridad applies at 0.19%, 0.21% and 0.24% across three bands. Those rates are small enough that the marginal burden drops sharply at the cap. The employer pays a much larger share (~30%) on top, including a higher contingencias comunes rate (23.6%) plus FOGASA + accidents insurance.

On the bulletin (nómina) it appears as a separate line. The site's Spain calculator models the cap and the solidarity bands, so figures above €61,214.40 reflect the real contribution rather than a flat percentage of brut.

Calculator pages that use this term

See also