Pensions continue to be one of the issues that most concern retirees and pensioners in Spain and if not tell the members of ASJUBI, who do not stop protesting about the cut they receive in their pensions due to the reduction in early retirement. Now, some retirees speak without filters about the pension system, making it clear that it should be sustained, but without losing rights.
The YouTube channel ‘RescueYou’ has collected the testimony of several people over 65 years of age in a protest, where the slogans set the tone of the conversation: “Whoever governs governs, pensions defend themselves.” Between megaphones and demands, reflections appear that mix concern, indignation and proposals.
“We retirees are claiming that the pensions are not worthy because the CPI for life is very high and the pensions are low,” explains Carmen, 73 years old, who goes every Monday to protest. His diagnosis is clear: “Non-contributory pensions charge 400 or so euros and then widow’s pensions.”
“One of the Chinese tells us that there is no money”
The sustainability of the system is one of the big issues. While some economists warn that there are fewer and fewer contributions per pensioner, older people see it from another perspective.
“They tell us from the Chinese that there is no money,” says another pensioner who has been retired for 10 years. “I have been one of those who have raised the country based on a lot of effort.”
For him, the problem is not the lack of resources, but rather their distribution: “Let them take other taxes that take a lot of tax from housing, from roads, from many places to take it for that.”
He also rejects the discourse that the new generations will not have a pension: “That is not fair, nor is it normal, nor should it be accepted.” And he sends a clear warning: “I think they want to pass the buck to the banks.”
Birth rates, immigration and the cost of living
The debate over the future of the system inevitably leads to demographics. Fewer births and precarious jobs complicate the balance.
“Young people have many very precarious jobs, they get paid for four hours and then they do eight,” says Carmen, who also points out the problem of access to housing: “You have all the apartments for rent at 700, 900 euros… the main thing in life is to have a roof over your head.”
Regarding immigration as a solution, his position is pragmatic: “People who have come from other countries have many children… those children are going to stay here.”
“I am not against immigrants because immigrants are the ones who are going to help us,” says one of the interviewees.
The minimum wage and the loss of purchasing power
The increase in the interprofessional minimum wage has also created debate among these retirees, who do not hesitate to position themselves in favor of this measure in order to improve the lives of young people, although they also consider that more measures would be needed and not just raising the SMI.
“Anything that encourages workers seems very good to me,” says Carmen. However, he introduces a key criticism: “The cost of living is still so high… they would have to raise it to 2,000 or so euros to be able to live.”
The problem, according to those interviewed, is not only the salary, but the general increase in prices: “The government would have to lower food prices a little.”
Another pensioner sums it up with a simple idea: “Something positive as long as you go up… and those at the top earn less.”
What retirees think of those who go to Andorra to pay less
Pensioners have also given their opinion about young people who go to countries like Andorra to pay less taxes and about those who after doing this decide to return to Spain, something with which the majority agree.
“A person who is not supportive should not be here again,” Carmen states emphatically. “Let him go to live in Andorra but definitely… it would take away his Spanish nationality.”
The opinion is shared by other interviewees. “I shouldn’t belong here, I should live in Andorra,” says another retiree.
For them, the question is not legal, but moral: “What solidarity do you have with the Spanish people?” Carmen asks. And he goes further: “He who has money and wants to steal more… that is stealing from the government here.”
A generation that does not give up defending its own
Beyond the ideological differences or specific proposals, there is a common element in all of them and it is none other than the defense of the public pension system as an earned right.
“I have worked and I have kept quiet and I have raised the country,” summarizes one of the interviewees.
On the street, between slogans and shared experiences, retirees make it clear that they are not willing to assume that their future or that of the next generations is in doubt. Because, as they repeat over and over again, it’s not just about numbers, it’s about dignity.