Escrivá defends that the RETA reform implements a "fairer, more flexible and equitable" contribution system

MADRID, 25 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Minister of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration, José Luis Escrivá, defended this Thursday before Congress that the reform of the Special Regime for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) will implement a "fairer, more flexible and equitable" contribution system for temporary workers. own account.

"It is a very complex and hard-working reform, negotiated not only with the social partners, but also with the self-employed associations, representatives of a very heterogeneous group. It is a collective success that we have found a way to correct a situation that affects more of 3 million workers, one in six in our country, who have so far received a different treatment," Escrivá said in the Lower House, where this Thursday the validation or repeal of the decree will be discussed.

This reform of the RETA marks a "turning point" and will allow self-employed workers to contribute based on their real income. In addition, it will improve social protection for this group and improve their pensions, as pointed out by the minister, who recalled that the pensions of the self-employed are 43% lower than those of contributors to the general regime.

The head of the Social Security has also explained to the deputies that this reform advances towards a "more equitable system", since it will make "lighter contributions in periods in which they are experiencing difficulties or that for different reasons have lower returns". This is due to the fact that self-employed workers will have the possibility of changing their section every two months, with a total of six changes per year.

Likewise, the new contribution system for real income expands benefits for the group, with the incorporation of sectoral and cyclical RED mechanisms, and it will no longer be necessary to completely close the business to access benefits, as the minister pointed out.

Escrivá has insisted that this Royal Decree complies with the recommendations of the Toledo Pact and with the commitments made with Brussels in the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).

The Congress will validate this Thursday the new contribution system for the self-employed based on real income, which will have a transition period of nine years, until 2032, and will begin to be applied from January 2023, with 15 installments of quotas that will go from 230 euros up to 500 euros and will vary until 2025, depending on the net income of self-employed workers.