It is the self-employed, domestic workers and those who earn more than 50,000 euros per year, who represent a quarter of the affiliates
In Spain, it is not just the self-employed who do not contribute based on their real income, although it seems that way as they are almost exclusively talked about. And even more so now in the final stretch of negotiations on the new model. In reality, it can be said that practically one in four workers do not pay social security based on their earned income: they are almost five million of the more than 20.2 million members currently registered in the system, since we also have to add people with a salary above 50,000 euros and domestic workers.
The largest group consists of self-employed persons: more than 3.3 million, who freely choose their premium income. And a vast majority, 85%, opts to pay the minimum rate: 294 euros per month if they are private individuals, 377 euros if they are companies. So far, because from next year, the new model negotiated with the group by Minister José Luis Escrivá must be applied, so that their contributions are made on the basis of their net revenues and, although the draft is due to close in June, for the time being the agreement seems a long way off.
But there is another group made up of the workers who earn the most and who contribute to the maximum base, namely 4,139.4 euros, a limit that Podemos wants to lift and which the PSOE accidentally voted in favor in Congress last week. . These are those with an income of more than 49,672 euros per year, which is the maximum benefit for which social security has to be paid in 2022; that is, currently anyone who earns more than that amount is not contributing.
From the Ministry of Social Security, they don’t give the data on how many affiliates fall within the maximum bases, but in 2018 they offered the AIReF the calculation that there would be about 1.5 million employees, a figure that coincides with the estimate that the the Salary Structure Survey INE shows that 1.4 million workers have a salary of more than 50,000 euros. CC OO for its part speaks of between 1.1 and 1.2 million contributing year round for the maximum quota, which could go up to 1.5 million if those who contributed at least one month of the year.
Finally, the nearly 380,000 domestic workers registered in the system also contribute not by their real income, but rather by the rate basis, a series of sections that have improved in recent years, however, and are quite close to what they earn. , according to Carlos Bravo, CC OO’s Confederate Secretary of Social Protection and Public Policy. However, Bravo denounces that the problem in this sector is the high percentage of the underground economy that exists and needs to be combated. While only 378,000 domestic workers are registered, in fact nearly 550,000 are listed in the Active Population Survey (EPA), meaning 165,000 work irregular hours. Therefore, the government has launched a campaign against fraud in this group that has already enabled the regularization of thousands upon thousands of workers.
But the Executive’s objective is that the contributions of these five million members will come closer and closer to their income in the short term. Therefore, the Ministry of Inclusion will hold another meeting with the social agents next Monday to try to reach an agreement on the new premium system for the self-employed that will come into effect in 2023, although for now the last proposal of thirteen sections with quotas between 250 and 550 euro gets the firm rejection of the CEOE.
But Escrivá also plans to agree on a “moderate increase in the maximum contribution bases” before the end of the year, which in turn would lead to an increase in the maximum pension in the same proportion. The aim is to gradually increase it by 25% over the next 25 years to 60,000 euros per year.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
