How much would you earn on sick leave and what pension would you get as a self-employed worker?
Two calculations in one: the sick-leave benefit (temporary disability) and the retirement pension based on your contributions. 2026 rules and the already-legislated schedule. No sign-up: everything is calculated in your browser.
The base you contribute on (it appears on your self-employed contribution receipt). In 2026 it ranges from 653,59 € to 5.101,20 €. The benefit is calculated on the base of the month before the leave.
You would earn in the first month of leave
0,00 €
Each row is a period: from when, until when and the monthly base (in today's €). Past rows are your history; future ones are your plan — change them to see how the pension varies. Leave "Until" empty on the last period to contribute on that base until the day you retire.
Where do I get my real bases? Download your Contribution bases report for free at Import@ss (Social Security): it lists the monthly base of each period of your working life.
Which base can I choose based on my income? (2026 brackets)
Monthly net earnings
Min. base
Max. base
Min. contribution
Max. contribution
2026 table (Order PJC/297/2026, BOE). Contribution = base × 31,5% (2026 rate: 28,30% common + 1,30% occupational + 0,90% cessation + 0,10% training + 0,90% MEI). The net earnings that Social Security looks at deduct 7% for generic expenses (3% for corporate self-employed) and are averaged over the months registered. There is no approved table yet for future years: use it as a reference.
From
Until
Base €/mo
Your data is saved automatically in this browser (nothing leaves your device).
It is calculated automatically from your contributions; you can change it.
Estimated retirement pension (gross)
0,00 €/mo
You retire
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Earliest retirement
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Years contributed
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Regulatory base
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Reg. base counts from
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% applied
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Optimizer: raise the base now, or contribute the minimum, invest and raise at the end?
Goal: maximize your monthly pension with the same financial effort. Two strategies with the same monthly outlay (the most you can afford to contribute): (A) raise the base right now to that figure and keep it, or (B) contribute the minimum and invest the difference each month in an index fund, then use up that fund (contributions + interest) to finance contributing at the maximum your income allows during the last N years of your working life — precisely the window that counts towards the regulatory base. The optimizer works out how many final years at the maximum the fund finances and what pension each strategy leaves you. Everything in today's €; withdrawing the fund is taxed as capital gains. It uses your date of birth, history and retirement date from above.
The most you can pay in contributions each month from now on (your budget). This is the "raise the base now" strategy.
Already net of inflation (e.g. 7% nominal − 2,5% CPI ≈ 4,5%).
Knowing what you contribute is knowing what you will earn
Your sick leave and your pension depend on the base you contribute on. With Cuéntamo you keep your income and expenses up to date, see your net earnings and can anticipate which base suits you best — so you don't find out too late that you under-contributed your whole life.
How much you earn on sick leave as a self-employed worker
Since 2019 all self-employed workers contribute compulsorily for common and occupational contingencies, so you are entitled to the temporary disability (TD) benefit. The calculation base is your contribution base of the month before the leave, divided by 30 (the daily regulatory base).
Common illness or non-work accident: on days 1 to 3 you earn nothing; from day 4 to 20, 60% of the regulatory base; from day 21, 75%.
Work accident or occupational illness:75% from the day after the leave begins, without the three waiting days.
For common illness you need to have contributed at least 180 days in the previous 5 years and be up to date with payments. For an accident or occupational illness no prior period is required.
The contribution during the leave. You keep paying your self-employed contribution for the first 60 days. From day 61, the mutual insurer or Social Security takes over your contribution for all contingencies for the rest of the leave, automatically.
How a self-employed worker's retirement pension is calculated
The pension is calculated the same as in the general scheme; the only thing specific to self-employed workers is that the base it starts from is the contribution base you have chosen over time. The chain is:
Regulatory base: the average of your contribution bases over the last 25 years before you retire (the sum of the last 300 monthly bases divided by 350). Only what is contributed in that window counts: contributing on the minimum your whole life makes for a low regulatory base.
Percentage by years contributed: with 15 years (the minimum) you earn 50%; the percentage rises with each month contributed up to 100%, which is reached at 36 years and 6 months in 2026 and at 37 years from 2027.
Retirement age: in 2026, 66 years and 10 months (or 65 with ≥ 38 years and 3 months contributed); from 2027, 67 years (or 65 with ≥ 38 years and 6 months).
Caps: the result is capped at the top by the maximum pension (3.359,60 €/month in 2026) and at the bottom by the minimum pension. It is paid in 14 instalments a year.
Why we ask for your contribution timeline. Since the regulatory base is the average of the last 25 years, both your past and future contributions weigh on the result. That is why the calculator lets you enter your history and vary what you will contribute from now on: so you can see, in euros, how much it pays to raise the base — and which years you can still change before retiring.
We work in today's euros (real terms): that way there is no need to guess future inflation, and the CPI updating of bases that Social Security applies is neutralized. The figure you see is an estimate in present value, not an INSS resolution.
How much should I contribute?
There is no single answer. Contributing above the minimum base improves your sick leave and, above all, your pension, but only what you contribute in the last 25 years of your career really counts. That is why many advisers recommend raising the base in the home stretch towards retirement. Use the calculator to try different future bases and see the effect on your pension.
Frequently asked questions
The daily regulatory base is your previous month's contribution base divided by 30. For common illness you earn nothing on days 1 to 3; from day 4 to 20 you earn 60% of the regulatory base; and from day 21, 75%. For a work accident or occupational illness you earn 75% from the day after the leave begins, without the three waiting days.
Yes, during the first 60 days. From day 61, the mutual insurer or Social Security takes over the payment of your contribution for all contingencies for the rest of the leave, automatically.
The same as in the general scheme: a regulatory base from the average of the contribution bases over the last 25 years (the sum of the last 300 monthly bases divided by 350), a percentage according to the years contributed (50% at 15 years, up to 100%) and the minimum and maximum caps. It is paid in 14 instalments a year.
In 2026, 36 years and 6 months; from 2027, 37 years. With 15 years contributed (the minimum) you earn 50% of the regulatory base, and the percentage rises with each month contributed up to 100%.
The ordinary age depends on the year and the years contributed. In 2026 it is 66 years and 10 months, or 65 with at least 38 years and 3 months contributed. From 2027 it is 67 years, or 65 with at least 38 years and 6 months.
Yes, but only what is contributed in the last 25 years before you retire counts towards the regulatory base. Contributing on a higher base in those years raises your pension; contributing on the minimum your whole life reduces it. The calculator lets you vary your future bases to see it.
Indicative tool; it is not a resolution of Social Security or the INSS. Sick leave: rules of RD 1273/2003 and bases of Order PJC/297/2026 (2026). Retirement: the estimate applies the rules in force and the schedule ALREADY legislated according to your retirement year (ordinary age and percentage scale of Law 27/2011; regulatory base of art. 209 LGSS, with the RD-law 2/2023 reform — neutral if you keep a constant base; minimum/maximum pension for 2026 of RD 241/2026). If you bring retirement forward, the reduction coefficients for voluntary early retirement apply (art. 208 LGSS, table by months of anticipation and years contributed), which lower the pension for life, and it is checked that the resulting pension exceeds the minimum (a requirement to be able to retire early); for pensions that reach the maximum cap a special transitional regime applies that is not reflected here. It is calculated in today's euros (real value), assuming continuity of contribution without gaps and that the maximum base/caps evolve with the CPI (we do not project inflation). The actual pension depends on decades of contributions and future regulatory changes. Constants verified on 30 June 2026. For your case, check your working-life report and the official Social Security simulator or an adviser.