To access the retirement pension it is not enough to have a minimum number of years of contributions, it is necessary to have at least 730 days within the last 15 years and also be up to date. current with Social Security. Failure to do so may lead to denial. This is what has happened to a 66-year-old self-employed worker, who has seen his retirement pension denied for not proving the specific deficiency and also having a debt with Social Security of 22,082.99 euros, a fact that has been confirmed by the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia.
This self-employed worker, born in 1957, applied for a retirement pension from Social Security when he reached the age of 66, this being his ordinary retirement agebeing denied. The reason was twofold, since, on the one hand, it did not meet the specific deficiency requirement, that is, it did not have 730 days of contributions within the last 15 years, regulated in article 205 of the General Social Security Law (can be consulted in this BOE).
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On the other hand, he was not up to date with his Social Security payments, since he had a debt of unpaid contributions for the amount of 22,082.99 euros. It must be said that, as stated in the sentence, he attempted to regularize his situation by requesting a deferral of the debt, but it was denied, since “he did not have the financial capacity to pay the deferral.”
Debts are a reason to deny retirement pension
Due to the refusal of Social Security, this man decided to go to court. Thus, in the Social Court No. 3 of Malaga he asked to revoke the resolution and recognize the right to receive the pension, or alternatively, “that he be offered to pay said installments or structure the debt.”
But the court rejected it, in other words, it agreed with Social Security, since in addition to the debt, it did not comply with the “specific lack of 730 days of contributions in the last 15 years.”
Dissatisfied, he decided to go to the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia, alleging that his rights had been violated and that Social Security did not offer him the possibility of inviting him to pay the debt. Even so, the TSJ once again reaffirmed the position of the Social Court explaining that “by not having covered the minimum contribution period, the Managing Entity has not proceeded to the payment invitation mechanism.”
Parenthesis doctrine
As a last resort, he had requested that the so-called “parenthesis doctrine“a legal principle that allows periods without contributions to be deducted when they are due to causes beyond the control of the worker, such as involuntary unemployment or situations assimilated to registration. Even so, the Superior Court of Justice of Andalusia rejected its application, understanding that the plaintiff “did not prove or attempt to prove the existence of exceptional causes that would allow its application.”
The court also explained that, although Social Security may invite the worker to catch up on the payment of contributions, this invitation only applies when the minimum contribution period is previously accredited, which did not occur in this case.
For everything explained, Luis María did not have the right to the contributory retirement pension, since he had not contributed the required 730 days in the last 15 years nor was he up to date with Social Security payments.