Economy Which pensions are affected by the new contribution change?

Since October 1, 2023, part-time work is equated with full-time work for the purposes of calculating contribution periods to be entitled to a retirement pension and other contributory benefits. This is one of the main novelties of the last part of the pension reform.

With its publication in the BOE, Royal Decree-Law 2/2023, of March 16, “on urgent measures to expand the rights of pensioners, reduce the gender gap and establish a new framework” comes into force. sustainability of the public pension system”. With the new regulations there is a change in contributions that affects some pensions.

This law equates part-time work and full-time work for the purposes of calculating the contribution periods necessary for the recognition of retirement pensions, permanent disability, death and survival, temporary disability, birth and child care.

Thus, part-time workers are required to have the same contribution periods to access benefits as full-time workers.

As explained by Social Security, the periods of activity are counted in full days, regardless of the worker’s working hours during that period. In this way, in addition to eliminating the global partiality coefficient, the proportionality rules for accrediting the contribution periods necessary to qualify for benefits are put an end to.

For the purposes of accrediting the contribution periods necessary to cause the right to retirement benefits, permanent disability, death and survival, temporary disability and birth and care of a minor, the different periods during which the worker has remained registered with a part-time contract, regardless of the duration of the work carried out in each of them.

In short, the contribution periods are now taken into account, regardless of the length of the day worked in each of them. Part-time work is equated to a quoted day, regardless of the hours worked.

From the magazine of the Secretary of State for Social Security and Pensions they detail that “this modification operates retroactively with respect to the periods that are going to be computed as full-time contributions. That is, the conversion covers previous part-time periods worked and after October 1, 2023 for the purposes of accessing and calculating Social Security benefits. On the contrary, this modification does not operate retroactively for causative events (when the right is generated) prior to that date.”

However, Social Security has already been applying the change in the calculation of benefits since 2019, when the Constitutional Court declared the unconstitutionality and nullity of the partiality coefficients, both for the calculation of the minimum periods of contribution required and for the percentage applicable to the regulatory basis for calculating the retirement pension. The constitutional body was based on the discrimination that the calculation of contribution periods to access benefits exerted on women, who monopolize the majority of partial jobs.