The applied economics think tank Fedea suggests that the latest changes agreed between the government, employers and unions on pensions, particularly regarding deferred and active retirement, could end up generating a higher cost for the system. In an analysis published on Monday on the latest pension agreement, Fedea points out that “there are many doubts” that the new measures will not generate a higher cost for the system compared to the previous situation.
The Minister of Social Security, Elma Saiz, communicated the agreement on the Toledo Pact at the beginning of September and now hopes to obtain the support of the parliamentary groups, currently not closed. The evolution of the regulation could include an economic report containing the financial information and the economic impact of the reform, although this is unknown at this time.
Fedea recalls that the agreement addresses issues that have remained pending since the last reform related to access to retirement, its compatibility with paid work and the role of mutual insurance companies in managing temporary incapacity. Specifically, and with regard to the changes aimed at encouraging the postponement of the retirement age, Fedea believes that this will not generate savings for the retirement system compared to the current situation, but rather “it could rather increase them”according to researcher Miguel Ángel García.
Similarly, they highlight the positive side of the measure even if the reform as a whole seems to them “insufficient” by maintaining “unnecessary obstacles” to make paid work compatible with retirement by limiting the working hours that can be reduced. They also question the fact that the opportunity has not been exploited to create “attractive conditions” for companies and underlines the elimination of redundancy fees for workers who continue to work beyond the legal age retirement or the opportunity to renegotiate their salaries and other working conditions.
Regarding the changes to the relief contract, he believes that they could worsen fairness in the treatment of workers in small and medium-sized enterprises. Regarding the role of collaborating mutual societies, he adds that this could mean “some efficiency gains” in the management of temporary incapacity, but he considers it “unlikely” that it could significantly reduce the intense growth in expenditure on this benefit.
