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The media has recently reported on the agreement reached between the Government, business organisations and the most representative trade unions to improve the compatibility between retirement pensions and work. The agreement seeks to balance the sustainability of the pension system and improve the quality of life of workers in Spain.
Following a first reading of the signed document, and pending its approval in Congress and subsequent publication in the BOE, we have compiled the most relevant aspects:
- Incentives for delayed retirement
– Description : Increases the incentive for those who delay their retirement beyond the established age. For each period of delay, the pension increases by 4%, and from the second year onwards it increases by 2% for each period of more than six months and less than one year.
– Impact: This increase seeks to motivate workers to prolong their working life, thereby reducing the pressure on the pension system by delaying access to benefits.
- Regulation of active retirement
– Elimination of the Complete Career Requirement : workers no longer need to have completed their contribution career to access active retirement.
– Compatibility with delay incentives: active retirement is now compatible with delay incentives, and the percentage of pension that can be received increases depending on the delay in retirement, from 45% to 100% after five years of delay.
– Promotion of self-employment : self-employment is encouraged with an initial pension compatibility percentage of 75% if a salaried worker is hired on a permanent basis.
– Impact: These measures encourage work activity at an older age, allowing pensioners to supplement their pension with income derived from their work.
- New regulation on flexible retirement
– Mandate for regulatory review : a six-month period is established for the Government to review the flexible retirement regulations contained in Royal Decree 1132/2002, in order to improve access to this modality for salaried workers.
– Impact : Encouraging flexible retirement can improve the sustainability of the pension system by allowing a gradual transition from work to retirement.
- Partial retirement and the manufacturing industry
– Partial early retirement : allows partial retirement up to three years before the ordinary age, with a reduction in working hours of between 20% and 33% in the first year.
– Relief contract : the relief contract must be indefinite and full-time, and must be maintained for at least 2 years following the end of partial retirement.
– Extension to the manufacturing industry : the regulation applies to the manufacturing industry, with a progressive increase in the contribution from 2025 to 2029.
– Impact : the aim is to facilitate generational change in specific sectors, allowing younger workers to access the labour market.
- Reduction coefficients for arduous occupations
– Amendment to Royal Decree 1698/2011 : introduces a new procedure for the recognition of reduction coefficients in highly arduous occupations.
– Evaluation criteria : morbidity, accident rate and process duration indicators will be used to establish these coefficients.
– Impact : It facilitates access to early retirement for workers in particularly hard or dangerous jobs, improving their well-being and occupational health.
- Discontinuous fixed
– Multiplier coefficient : the multiplier coefficient of 1.5 is reintroduced to accredit the contribution periods necessary for access to retirement, permanent disability and death benefits.
– Impact : the aim is to recognise the intermittent nature of the work of temporary workers, ensuring that their periods of inactivity do not affect their access to social security rights.
- Temporary disability management
– Better use of mutual insurance resources : collaboration between autonomous communities and mutual insurance companies will be promoted to speed up diagnosis and treatment, with a focus on trauma pathologies.
– Monitoring committee : a committee will be created to monitor and evaluate the implementation of agreements and analyse temporary disability.
– Impact : The aim is to improve efficiency in the management of sick leave, reducing its duration and improving the health of workers.
- Bonus system for reducing accidents
– Reactivation of the incentive : the suspension of the bonus system for companies that reduce workplace accidents is lifted, introducing a new mechanism based on investments in prevention.
– Company classification : a system of accident classification (A, B, C, D) is established that determines access to and the amount of the incentive.
– Impact : promotes investment in occupational prevention measures, encouraging companies to improve their occupational health and safety standards.
The agreement reached aims to improve the compatibility between pensions and work, optimize the management of temporary incapacity, and promote safer and healthier working conditions. The proposed measures seek to ensure the sustainability of the pension system, balancing the needs of older workers and promoting youth employment.
Jordi Altafaja Divi · [email protected]
Managing Partner, Head of Labor Department BNFIX PICH TAX LEGAL