Total permanent disability, that is, the one that disqualifies one from the usual profession, is charged indefinitely, so it can be said that it is almost a “life pension.” However, this Social Security contributory benefit does not add contributions for the retirement pension. In this sense, labor lawyer and disability specialist Víctor Arpa from ‘Arpa Legal’ explains that “total permanent disability does not contribute towards your retirement.”
Total permanent disability is the degree of disability that limits one’s usual profession, but allows one to work in a different one compatible with the limitations. Arpa explains it with a clear example in which “a bricklayer with a serious lumbar injury or a driver with vision problems” cannot do their usual job, but they could, in theory, work as an administrator or in another position compatible with their limitations.
As it gives the possibility of returning to work and continuing to contribute, Social Security offers an amount that is 55% of the worker’s regulatory base, which can rise to 75% starting at age 55 when one does not have a job, that is, what is known as “qualified permanent disability.” This is stated in article 196 of the General Law of Social Security (available at this link).
Here comes the part that Arpa wants to make clear because it is the most surprising. Charging for total permanent disability does not generate a contribution. Years of career are not accumulated, the contribution base is not increased and the retirement pension that will be received in the future is not improved. “It is simply an economic benefit, not a work situation,” says the lawyer.
The confusion is understandable. The worker receives money monthly from Social Security, but that does not make him a contributor. The pension leaves the system, it does not enter it.
What happens when you reach retirement age
When the pensioner reaches the ordinary retirement age, the total permanent disability is automatically transformed into a retirement pension. The amount, in most cases, remains the same. There is no improvement due to the simple passage of time.
But there is one important exception. If after receiving total permanent disability the worker joins another activity and contributes therein, those contributions do count toward retirement. “When the time comes, you can choose the pension that best suits you,” explains Arpa. That is, if working in that second profession generated rights superior to those of disability, the worker can opt for the retirement pension calculated with these new contributions. In fact, Social Security can allow you to collect two pensions at the same time, one for disability and another for retirement, as long as both belong to different regimes.
The lawyer ends by saying that “total permanent disability does not contribute, but you can improve your retirement if you work in another activity.” In this way, it is not an absolute impossibility, but a condition, since, without subsequent work, the retirement pension starts from the same point as the disability.