The proposed reform of the contribution system for self-employed workers that the Government recently presented to the social agents already has almost as many detractors as defenders.
According to recent reports from experts about the measure to make the group start to contribute based on real income will have advantages for the self-employed, who will substantially improve the pension in most cases by adjusting their monthly fee to their income, but it can also be a source of inequity for the public pension system.
Specifically, the experts from the Research Group on Pensions and Social Protection conclude that if the Government’s plan is substantiated, which initially provides for thirteen different contribution tranches , one individual from the general scheme and another from the self-employed scheme, both with the current base minimum of 13,300 euros per year, they will contribute 3,763.9 and 3,300 euros, respectively, for common contingencies in 2032 and, nevertheless, they will obtain the same pension for the same career and retirement age.
An effect that occurs because the pension is calculated on the declared regulatory base and not on the volume of contributions made.
In the same way, if the base were 22,000 euros per year, the contribution would be 6,226 in the general scheme and 3,660 in that of the self-employed (41% less), to obtain the same pension.
The calculation of retirement takes into account the regulatory bases and not the contributions contributed
For the maximum base of 48,841 euros per year, the price returns to approximate, being 13,822 in the general regime and 12,900 in the Reta. This is reflected in a recent study by the Santalucía Institute on Modifications to the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers:
Towards a rupture of the current scheme of the pension system , where, on the one hand, the proposed reform is valued by a very positive modification: the consideration of tax returns as the basis of contribution. “But it also has very negative elements, among which it stands out that there are different implicit contribution rates according to tax returns, which gives rise to inequities,” the experts warn.
In addition, it is appreciated about the distribution of the future contribution bases and contributions for the self-employed once the reform is completed, a certain imbalance between the contribution proportion and the future benefit received among the group itself.
“If we focus on the fees to be paid in 2032, we can carry out another study to analyze inequities within the self-employed system itself,” point out the expert authors of the document. Thus, if we normalize to the unit the quota paid and the pension that the self-employed with a minimum base will charge (13,300), it can be seen how the self-employed with intermediate bases obtain a better pension in relation to what is quoted than the self-employed with low or high bases .
Therefore, the experts conclude that these inequities that may arise with the general regime and even among the self-employed themselves, go beyond a simple anecdote, since, in some way, “bankruptcy” the status existing until now in terms of the unification of the type of contribution by schemes.
“This modification will give rise to inequities, breaking the principle of contributivity because in Spain the calculation of the retirement pension does not depend on the type of contribution, but on the contribution bases,” says the Group of Experts on the measure.
