As the years go by, there is a fairly recurring thought in the minds of workers: retirement. After an intense professional career, one of the greatest wishes is to be able to live a quiet life, enjoying the pension that has cost so much work to obtain. However, few know how important your age is as the years you have contributed to Social Security.
Although it may seem that you can receive a retirement pension just for having worked in Spain and having achieved the ordinary retirement agewhich, starting in 2027, will be 65 years if you have worked 38 years and 6 months or more, and 67 years if you have contributed less. The truth is that, in order to receive it, it will be necessary to meet a series of requirements and, Its amount will vary greatly depending on the length of time you have been employed..
As the labor lawyer, Ignacio Solsona, explains on the YouTube channel Laboroteca, “the contributions They are very important for future Social Security benefits.among them the retirement pension”. However, working is not the only way that you can continue adding years of contributions, but there are other ways that, In the long run, they can be much more beneficial than to retire early.
The most profitable option for those who lose their job before age 65
Currently, in Spain, It is necessary to have worked for at least 15 years and, of these, at least two must be within the 15 years prior to retirement, according to La Revista de la Seguridad Social. However, those who request a contributory pension with only this amount of time contributed they will receive 50% of their regulatory base. A figure that is usually insufficient to survive.
On the contrary, those who have not reached that figure will only have the right to one non-contributory pension from the age of 65, as the lawyer explains. But it will be necessary to comply with “the requirements of lack of income, both at the individual and family level, and that you reside in Spain“. This benefit is of a welfare nature and seeks to help those who do not have sufficient financial resources survive.
Taking this factor into account, and that the ordinary retirement age in Spain is 65 years, having contributed for 38 years and 6 months, and 67 years, the lawyer recalls that there is a solution for those who have lost their jobs at an age close to retirement or their unemployment benefit has been exhausted. So that this fact does not end up harming the pension that can be received in the future, what the lawyer recommends is “sign a special agreement with the General Treasury of Social Security“.
What is a special agreement with the General Treasury of Social Security?
This solution consists of a voluntary agreement with the entity with which you can generate, maintain or extend the right to benefits in exchange for the payment of fees. A measure that, although it may entail a cost, the truth is that, “it is usually cheaper and more economical pay a special agreement for a period of time that delays retirement from age 65 to age 67,” according to Ignacio Solsona.
To convince his followers, the lawyer presents a practical example with which to observe the economic benefits that this type of agreements may entail in the future. Well, in the event that a person loses their job or stops working at 33 and a half years of contributions, but still wants to retire at 65, they can reach a special agreement with Social Security for 5 years.
In case the fee is 400 euros per monththat would mean an expense of 24,000 euros during the 5 years that the agreement lasts, without taking into account revaluations. On the contrary, if you delay your retirement age to 67 years and the amount of your pension were 2,000 euros, this would mean a loss of 56,000 euros in the two years that his retirement has been delayed.
Only those who contribute for 36 and a half years will be able to receive 100% of their pension
“Logicallyit is more beneficial and profitable to pay that special agreement than to delay the retirement pension“Also, remember that you can only receive 100% of the pension if you have contributed for 36 and a half years; otherwise, the percentage will be significantly lower. Therefore, the most convenient thing to enjoy this benefit in its entirety will be accumulate the established contribution timeeither working or through a special agreement.
The lawyer gives the example of a person who has only achieved quote 20 years throughout his life and applies for his retirement pension. As he explains, this only will receive “61.4% of its regulatory base”a much lower percentage than what he would have achieved if he had reached the requested 36 and a half years. “If, for example, you have a regulatory base of 2,000 euros gross per month, 61.4% of that amount would be a pension of 1228 euros gross monthly“.
There will be a double penalty for those who request early retirement
A situation that, in the event of early retirement, can lead to become “a double penalty”since the pension reduction coefficients related to this anticipation must also be faced. These penalties will depend on the time contributed and the number of months that the withdrawal is advanced, becoming 21.00% for those under 38.5 years old and two years older.
Likewise, remember that to request early retirement it will also be necessary meet a minimum quoted time in Social Security, being 35 years for voluntary cases and 33 years for involuntary cases. Although remember that, to reach this time, military service may also be taken into account, with a maximum of one year, or maternity leave, among others.
All this reminds the importance of rigorously planning your career and the years that you will dedicate to working in Spain, since, in addition to age, they will be a key factor in determining the amount of the pension that will be received during retirement. A life plan that will not only determine your quality of life during the present, but also in the future.