Workers over 65 years of age quadruple in La Rioja in the last decade

Retirement is not a viable alternative for all workers, at least economically. No matter how much they meet the requirements, the contributions made during the years worked do not allow for a comfortable retirement. With the escalation of prices, collecting 800 or 900 per month in pension is not an option, so more and more Rioja residents continue working beyond the age of 65. Logically, this increase is also influenced by the fact that after the 2013 reform it is necessary to contribute longer to reach retirement age.

That year they changed the rules. Until then, the ordinary retirement age was always 65 years old, but after the reform, two ages were implemented that depended on the contributions accumulated throughout one’s working life. This 2024 the ordinary age is 66 years and 6 months for those who have contributed less than 38 years. While people with more than 38 years of contributions will be able to retire at 65. This age and the necessary years of membership will increase at a rate of two months and three months per year until 2027. The objective by then is for retirement to be reached at 67 years of age in general and at 65 for those who have contributed for more than 38 years and 6 months.

The consequences of both the need to contribute more and to improve the pension have skyrocketed the number of Riojans affiliated with Social Security, especially in the group of those who continue to be active after over 65. In May 2014 there were 748 and last May, 2,886, of which 1,212 are women and 1,674 are men. That is, in a decade they have practically multiplied by four. In fact, it is this age group that has experienced the greatest percentage increase.

The employment pyramid is also a reflection of the population pyramid, which is widening in older cohorts. The Riojan population affiliated to Social Security over 45 years of age represents more than 53% of the total, and almost four out of ten are over 50 years of age.

Without a doubt, the reform of the retirement system has a lot to do with the increase in membership in the age group over 65 years of age, but there are also other reasons of sufficient weight to prolong working life and delay the moment of retirement.

Of all members, the self-employed are the ones who delay retirement the longest. According to the latest data from last May from the General Treasury of Social Security, the number of self-employed workers who were still active had increased by 51% compared to those recorded five years ago.

For Javier Marzo, general secretary of the Union of Professionals and Self-Employed Workers UPTA-UGT, the reason is very simple. 80% of the self-employed contribute for the minimum, he explains, and when they retire they may have 800 or 900 euros left in their pension. Given this, they consider the possibility of retiring with a lower pension while continuing to work as long as their income does not exceed the interprofessional minimum wage. In addition, the contribution they pay to Social Security is lower.

And among the self-employed, those who most take advantage of this option belong to the service sector, “where great physical effort is not required,” he points out. But there are activities in which it is not possible or not advisable to continue working beyond the age of 65, this is the case of plumbers, truck drivers and bricklayers, who do not usually delay their retirement. In general, those that do not stop are mostly small companies, the “naturally self-employed,” defines Marzo.

Fernando Melchor, president of the Association of Self-Employed Workers of La Rioja (ATA), believes that the main reason why self-employed workers delay retirement is that they have created “a creature” in which they have been working for decades and “they It is very difficult to leave it if they do not have a generational replacement, and if their health allows them to continue developing it and being in charge of it, it is more difficult for them because it is what they have dedicated themselves to continuously throughout their lives.

However, he points out, there are other self-employed people who want retirement to come either because the latest economic crisis derived from the pandemic hit them hard or because they suffer from different problems, especially health problems.

Until now, self-employed people can combine retirement with activity by collecting 50% of the pension, a good option especially for those entrepreneurs who have employees under their care.

However, the Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security has put on the table a change in the rules that has sparked controversy in recent days since it proposes reducing what is collected as a pension with active retirement by up to 30% in the first year. and with two years, 40% “with which we would be reducing the real incentive for the self-employed to continue developing their activity.”