Retirees explode against Social Security against Europe: "After having quoted 40, 45 or 47 years they submit to reducing coefficients that apply for a lifetime"

When a worker retires in advance in Spain, Social Security applies reducing coefficients, which are a penalty for advancing the ordinary retirement age. These penalties can reach up to 30% in cases where retirement is involuntary, that is, oblivious to the worker’s will. Now, is it fair to penalize those workers, whether voluntarily or involuntary, who have had a working life without interruptions and that, with 61 or 63 years, look without employment and without the possibility of returning to work? Should those who have quoted social security most punish?

In this sense, the ASJUBI40 association has attended the European Parliament to ask for something that is fair, ask to eliminate the reducing coefficients to the workers with the start of contribution careers. Through Compromís and the European Free Alliance and the Verdes, they denounce that these regulations are unfair, discriminatory and violate the social pillars and the regulations of the European Union.

They argue that the reducing coefficients applied to more than 900,000 people in Spain constitute a “life imprisonment” and result in low pensions, especially affecting women with less valued work careers.

“Penalized for life”

Antonio Matinero, president of ASJUBI40 recalled that “ASJUBI40 have been fighting for this cause and during these years we have met with spokesmen of all political parties in Spain and we have presented non -law propositions in the 17 autonomous communities, of which 16 have been approved,” he explained.

Now, despite the regional support, the association denounces that the processing in Congress remains stagnant. “We are still waiting for a proposal of law or a specific amendment to be processed that allows these penalties to be eliminated. We have been waiting for a year, but we doubt that it can get ahead before the legislature ends, which would mean that all these initiatives decay,” Matiner laments.

This blockade in national politics is what has led them to reinforce the pressure in Brussels. “We have been with this battle for four years and this is already the second complaint we present in Brussels. The reason is clear: keep this fight against the European Parliament Petition Commission alive and get the Europarliamentarians to know our situation,” he explains.

In the press conference also intervened Santiago Menchoro, a member of ASJUBI40, who summarized in two concepts the reason for his appearance: “life imprisonment” and “discrimination.” As he denounced, “after having quoted 40, 45 or 47, they submit to reducing coefficients that apply for a lifetime. That is a life imprisonment and what we ask is to get up.”

Professions that allow retirement at age 60, with 35 years quoted with 100% of the pension

Mongero recalled that in Spain there are groups that with 60 years and 35 quoted access 100% of the pension, such as teachers, bullfighters or train drivers, without being applied penalties. “We do not understand why this discrimination. We have been punished for more than a decade and what is not a receipt is that the parties give us the reason and then do not defend it in Congress. We want to collect 100% of our pension because we have been working for 14 years, we have quoted more than 40 years and we believe that what is being done with us is unfair,” he claimed.

To this claim was also added Laura Ale, representative of the association, who highlighted the double penalty suffered by women. “Historically, we have occupied lower rank positions due to the care of children or parents, which has limited our work careers. Our pensions are lower and, in addition, we are applied to reduce coefficients. We are doubly penalized,” he explained. In his opinion, “it is essential that the European Parliament considers this reality, because Europe was a pioneer in human rights and cannot turn its back on this injustice.”

Finally, other members of ASJUBI40 reinforced their message with legal arguments. They recalled that “the life reducing coefficients that apply to this group can reach up to 40%, despite having contributed more than 40 years to the system.” They also pointed out that this framework breaks the proportionality between quoted years and recognized pension, which constitutes “direct discrimination contrary to article 2 of Directive 2000/78 on equal treatment and the letter of fundamental rights of the EU”.

In addition, they explained that in other Member States who accredit between 40 and 45 years of contribution they access 100% of the pension. “It cannot be accepted that there are first and second pensioners in the same state. A lifetime deserves respect and proportionality, and no one should be punished for life for retirement in advance forced after more than four decades of work.”