Permanent disability is a Social Security benefit granted to workers who, after a period of sick leave due to temporary disability, are unable to work due to an injury or illness, whether for their usual profession or any other. This situation can be recognized in different degrees, such as partial permanent disability (a single payment equivalent to 24 monthly payments), total (55% or 75% of the regulatory base), absolute or great disability (100% of the regulatory base).
In order to receive this benefit when it results from a common illness, it is necessary to prove a minimum contribution. If this requirement is not proven, Social Security may deny the benefit, even if there is a medical limitation.
The General Social Security Law establishes that the number of contributions will depend on the age of the worker at the time of the causative event (normally, when accessing).
How much contribution does Social Security require?
In the case of workers who are 31 years of age or older, the rule requires that they have contributed a quarter of the time elapsed between the date on which they turned 20 and the date of the event that caused the pension. In any case, this period cannot be less than five years. This would be the table with the minimum contributions depending on age:
| Age at the causative event | Legal calculation | Minimum quote required |
|---|---|---|
| 31 years | 11 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 32 years | 12 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 33 years | 13 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 34 years | 14 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 35 years | 15 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 36 years | 16 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 37 years | 17 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 38 years | 18 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 39 years | 19 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 40 years | 20 years ÷ 4 | 5 years |
| 41 years | 21 years ÷ 4 | 5 years and 3 months |
| 42 years | 22 years ÷ 4 | 5 years and 6 months |
| 43 years | 23 years ÷ 4 | 5 years and 9 months |
| 44 years | 24 years ÷ 4 | 6 years |
| 45 years | 25 years ÷ 4 | 6 years and 3 months |
| 46 years | 26 years ÷ 4 | 6 years and 6 months |
| 47 years | 27 years ÷ 4 | 6 years and 9 months |
| 48 years | 28 years ÷ 4 | 7 years |
| 49 years | 29 years ÷ 4 | 7 years and 3 months |
| 50 years | 30 years ÷ 4 | 7 years and 6 months |
| 51 years | 31 years ÷ 4 | 7 years and 9 months |
| 52 years | 32 years ÷ 4 | 8 years |
| 53 years | 33 years ÷ 4 | 8 years and 3 months |
| 54 years | 34 years ÷ 4 | 8 years and 6 months |
| 55 years | 35 years ÷ 4 | 8 years and 9 months |
| 56 years | 36 years ÷ 4 | 9 years |
| 57 years | 37 years ÷ 4 | 9 years and 3 months |
| 58 years | 38 years ÷ 4 | 9 years and 6 months |
| 59 years | 39 years ÷ 4 | 9 years and 9 months |
| 60 years | 40 years ÷ 4 | 10 years |
| 61 years | 41 years ÷ 4 | 10 years and 3 months |
| 62 years | 42 years ÷ 4 | 10 years and 6 months |
| 63 years | 43 years ÷ 4 | 10 years and 9 months |
| 64 years | 44 years ÷ 4 | 11 years |
| 65 years | 45 years ÷ 4 | 11 years and 3 months |
This means that five years is a legal minimum, but it will not always be enough. As the worker’s age increases, so does the minimum contribution period. For example, a 40-year-old person would have to prove five years of contributions, since a quarter of the period between 20 and 40 years is equivalent to that time. On the other hand, a 52-year-old person would need eight years of contributions, calculating a quarter of the 32 years that have elapsed since the age of 20.
Furthermore, the law requires that at least one fifth of the required contribution period must be included within the 10 years immediately preceding the causative event. That is, it is not only important to have contributed during your working life, but also that a portion of those contributions are relatively recent.
Those under 31 years of age must prove one third of the time elapsed between the date on which they turned 16 and the date of the event that caused the pension.
In the case of partial permanent disability, Social Security requires 1,800 days of contributions within the 10 years immediately preceding the date on which the temporary disability from which the permanent disability derives has been extinguished. Finally, article 200.4 General Social Security Law establishes that, upon reaching the ordinary retirement age, the permanent disability pension will automatically change to the retirement pension, without losing money in the amount.