Escrivá affirms that the changes in the price will give the self-employed better pensions and greater protection

MADRID, 22 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá, has affirmed that the changes in the quotas for the self-employed respond to the functioning of Social Security, so that those who contribute the most will be able to have access to better pensions and greater social protection in case of adverse circumstances.

"We must bear in mind that what we are talking about is paying to have benefits, this is not a tax. It is quoted so that the protective action of Social Security is deployed in terms of pensions. The self-employed have been extraordinarily protected during the pandemic, in very difficult situations. For that you have to make contributions, these contributions allow more security in terms of pensions or contingencies in the event of unforeseen situations," the minister said in an interview on Antena 3's 'Espejo Público', collected by Europe Press.

Escrivá has thus responded to criticism about the fairness of the quotas in the 15 sections agreed between the Government and the three self-employed associations. Next year, when the new contribution system for real income begins to apply, a self-employed person with net income equal to or less than 670 euros will have to pay a fee of 230 euros, while one with net income above 6,000 euros will pay 500 euros fee.

The minister explained that, with the current regime, 85% of the self-employed contribute for the minimum base of 300 euros, and now they will have the possibility of making the contribution more flexible, which will allow one in two self-employed workers to " trade significantly below" its current figures.

"It is reasonable that there is a minimum contribution. We came from 300 and lowered it to 200 (in 2025). It is necessary for them to have a pension (...). What we are doing is that the self-employed are in the system and converge with the same pattern as wage earners", insisted the head of Social Security.

In addition, he has indicated that this change in the contribution system responds to a claim by the self-employed for "decades and decades", in addition to the recommendations of the Toledo Pact, and has clarified that it had not been possible to implement it until now because it is an "extraordinarily complex" modification.

In this sense, the minister has clarified that the negotiation has taken longer than initially expected due to the prolixity and complexity of the issues dealt with, and has also had the participation of the usual social agents and the three associations self-employed, the Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA), the Union of Professionals and Self-Employed Workers (UPTA) and the Union of Associations of Self-Employed Workers and Entrepreneurs (Uatae).

The objective is that all the self-employed contribute based on their real income in 2032. That was the initial horizon of the negotiations, but finally the interlocutors opted to close the contribution brackets for 2023, 2024 and 2025 and then review them again "to see what what to do next."

"This decision has emerged from the social dialogue: first decide what the sections are for the first three years and reassess how the experience is going after some time," Escrivá commented.

The reform of the self-employed contribution system also offers new social protection to this group, with various cases of partial cessation of activity and benefits without the need for them to close the activity and unsubscribe, as the minister added.

Escrivá will take the text, of more than 100 pages, to the Council of Ministers on Tuesday, July 26, and it will be approved by Royal Decree-law.