The Superior Court of Justice of Galicia has ruled in favor of the National Social Security Institute and a retiree must return 4,613.93 euros of his pension after starting to work as an administrator of a company while collecting his pension. The court explains that there was an incompatibility between the collection of the pension and the activity carried out.
The sentence (available at this link from the Judiciary) reports that the pensioner had a recognized retirement pension for which he received 100%, that is, an amount of 1,696.91 euros. But later, and key in this conflict, is that on February 28, 2023, he accepted the position of administrator of a company.
After this, months later, he tried to apply for active retirementthat is, the modality that allows retirees to return to work. He did so on March 1 and 27, 2023, but those requests were rejected. The reason was clear. As stated in the resolution, they were rejected “for not having started the activity compatible with the receipt of the retirement pension.”
The problem arose because the registration in the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers was not recognized by the General Treasury of Social Security until April 1, 2023, that is, it arrived late. Even so, Social Security suspended the payment of the pension from March 1 and claimed the amount collected between March and May, understanding that it was an improper collection. Later, he rehabilitated the pension, but now as a 50% active retirement and with effect from June 1, 2023.
The retiree was not satisfied and went to court, arguing that he submitted a document that should be considered a previous claim and not a new request. Their intention was for compatibility to be recognized earlier and thus avoid the return of amounts.
The key was that he was not registered with the RETA when he requested active retirement
The TSJ of Galicia rejected this argument, explaining that the pensioner submitted the compatibility request in March, but was not yet registered with the RETA, something that did not happen until April 1. Therefore, those first requests could not be valid. In other words, he presented them ahead of time.
“He was not registered in the RETA, which did not take place until April 1,” the sentence states. From there, the court concludes that the activity carried out since March was incompatible with the collection of the pension.
Furthermore, the court also makes it clear that the document submitted on May 24 could not be treated as a prior claim. In fact, he expressly states that “this is not a prior claim” and that it could not be given that value in the terms defended by the appellant.
Social Security has only recognized compatibility since June
Another important point of the ruling is that Social Security explains when the compatibility between work and pension takes effect. According to the administrative resolution collected by the court, “the effects of the compatibility of pension and work are from the 1st of the following month”, since the discharge began on April 1 and the valid application was submitted on May 24.
For this reason, Social Security understood that between March 1 and May 31 there was incompatibility and demanded the return of 4,613.93 euros and for this reason, the TSJ dismissed the appeal and confirmed that said money must be returned.