Bill would raise pensions and improve self-employed protections

Automatic summary, not yet reviewed

1. The bill would raise contributory Social Security and State passive classes pensions by 1.6% in 2019, instead of the 0.25% that the previous legal formula would produce, and sets the maximum public pension at €2,659.41 per month.
2. Minimum pensions, non-contributory pensions and SOVI pensions would rise by 3% in 2019 over the new 2018 minimum amounts.
3. People who received a pension adjusted in 2018 would get, before April 1, 2019, a single payment covering the difference between what they received and what they would have gotten with the 1.7% CPI increase.
4. The maximum Social Security contribution base would be set at €4,070.10 per month for 2019, a 7% increase, while self-employed minimum bases would rise only 1.25%, to €944.40 per month.
5. Self-employed workers would be required to contribute to all contingencies, including work-related ones and cessation of activity, whose benefit would be managed by a mutua and whose maximum duration would double to 24 months.
6. Temporary contracts of five days or less would carry a 40% surcharge on the employer's contribution, but each day worked would count as 1.4 contribution days for accessing benefits.
7. Collective agreements could again set mandatory retirement ages, provided this is tied to employment policy goals such as generational replacement or hiring unemployed people.
8. Seasonal farm workers in Málaga, Sevilla and Cádiz, affected by the October 2018 torrential rains, could access unemployment benefits or the agricultural income with only 20 days of contributions.

Who it affects

• Pensioners and public benefit recipients: Their pension would rise by 1.6% or 3% depending on the type, and they would get a single payment before April 1, 2019.
• Self-employed workers: They would contribute to all contingencies on a mandatory basis, with new bases and rates, and get better coverage for cessation of activity and sick leave.
• Employers: They would pay higher contributions for very short temporary contracts and face a 7% higher contribution cap.
• Domestic workers and farm workers: They would get new contribution base scales and quota reductions; farm workers in affected areas could access benefits sooner.
• Trainees and interns: They would be included in Social Security as assimilated to employees, even if their internship is unpaid.

Words worth knowing

Revalorización

Annual increase of pensions so they keep their value against rising prices.

Base de cotización

The amount on which Social Security contributions, and later some benefits, are calculated.

Cese de actividad

Situation of a self-employed person who stops their activity; it carries a benefit similar to unemployment pay.

Mutua colaboradora

A private entity that works with Social Security managing benefits such as workplace accidents or sick leave.

Convenio colectivo

Agreement between employers and unions setting working conditions for a sector or company.

It summarizes the text as it was introduced. It is written by artificial intelligence and may contain mistakes: the official text is what counts. Read the official text · How we make summaries