Spanish workers take the step towards retirement in very different ways. This is demonstrated by the differences in the age at which they can access the public pension or its amount. In the case of self-employed workers, the latest reform that penalizes early retirement has not significantly changed their habits and they continue to be those who retire later and, consequently, those who decide least to anticipate their exit from the labor market. the labor market. The gap between self-employed and employees exceeds 15 months: Self-employed workers retire at an average age of 66.2, while in the general scheme they now retire at 65.
Self-employed workers, to date, do not fall under the latest measures implemented as part of the vast pension reforms. First point: the 2013 reform, when a gradual increase in the ordinary retirement age and the contribution periods to be applied was introduced. Second point: the 2021 reform, where penalties were introduced in the event of early retirement. All this means that the self-employed already have access to retirement beyond the age of 65; and that there are practically no self-employed workers who access retirement – voluntarily or involuntarily – before the ordinary age (only 13.4% currently and 16% before the reform).
We must also ignore the measures put in place to encourage the postponement of retirement. The deferred method was already the preferred one for this group even before obtaining improvements to their pension for each year of delay. Of course, since 2021, the percentage of self-employed people with access to deferred retirement has doubled and 27.6% of them are already attracted by the additional percentage of the allowance or cash check given by Social Security.
Is there an economic reason behind this? Traditionally, self-employed workers have always had a lower pension on average. The result, of course, of the lowering of contribution bases or, directly, of the choice to contribute for the minimum, a common practice before the existence of the current system of modules and contribution by real income which classified the self-employed into sections and assigned them a contribution base depending on your income after paying taxes.
The average pension of self-employed workers, using a direct comparison with employees who make up the General Scheme, That’s 650 euros per month less than that of employees.Indeed, this summer, a milestone was reached by reaching an average pension of 1,000 euros.
So, is there a financial incentive or need to extend your retirement if you are self-employed? A priori, yes. But that does not fully explain the fact that more self-employed workers are extending their retirement. Statistics provided by Social Security explain that self-employed workers who access early retirement receive benefits almost 20% higher than those over 65 and decide to delay their retirement.
Another explanation is the conditions of this active retirement. The latest adjustments made this summer have limited the benefits of the self-employed, who can no longer receive 100% of the pension in addition to their income from work if they have an employee. This condition was limited to 75% from the first year in the case of having hired at least one employee on a permanent basis and a minimum seniority of 18 months; or if a new employee who has not had an employment relationship with the self-employed worker during the two years preceding the start of active retirement is hired for an indefinite period. Social Security will reward an additional 5% for every 12 months of uninterrupted activity.
Beyond the economic
There is a factor that goes beyond the economic, as the Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA) and the Spanish Seniors of Technical Cooperation (Secot) agree: the tradition of those who have dedicated their entire lives to a profession and do not want to leave it. . , or the difficulty of leaving the company in the hands of another person. A good one, explains ATA, would be Presentación Salazar, a 94-year-old waitress who still runs her business, 70 years later, and who has been awarded by the association for her career.
José Javier Miranda is a senior volunteer at the non-profit association Secot and depends on “elEconomista.es”. He is 63 years old and has extensive business and academic experience. You are in a similar situation to many people who advise. He explains that from his association they advise on very diverse cases: workers close to retirement who want to start a business, those who are taught the difficulty of starting an entrepreneurship, and also those who, after two years of inactivity, have very poor health.
His view leans more towards the spirit of self-employment and effort rather than the economic necessity of continuing to work. “An elderly person has the ‘know-how’, the know-how and great knowledge. There is the possibility of ensuring that he does not get lost”he emphasizes. Through the Secot initiative, they are trying to guarantee this type of person an opportunity adapted to their age, knowledge and physical condition. “Since there was a great capacity in this person, what has always been there flourishes,” Miranda explains about active aging.
