The PSOE and United We Can have managed to close an agreement to try to close the last phase of the reform of the pensions. Despite the turbulence that the relationship of the coalition partners is going through in matters such as the ‘only yes is yes’ law, socialists and purples have resolved the differences that had been blocking the reform of the public benefit system for months.
The main stumbling block between the two forces was the proposal to increase the number of years of contributions taken into account by Social Security to calculate the future pension. Here the minister José Luis Escrivá has filed down his offer and proposes two options: either future retirees keep the current calculation of the last 25 years of working life or raise it to 29 years, but the two worst are discounted.
In this way, more advantages are given to those more unstable careers and those who do not find their best prices in the last years of their professional careers, and at the same time, those who do finish their careers with the best salaries are not harmed. A model that will imply greater spending for Social Security, but for which Escrivá has already obtained the ‘plácet’ from the European Commission.
“We have reached an agreement to protect pensions and reinforce the redistributive nature of the system. We will do so by increasing the income that companies will contribute for the highest salaries and protecting the lowest pensions more,” declared the second vice president and leader of Unidas Podemos in the Government, Yolanda Díaz, through her Twitter account.
Escrivá’s initial offer for the computation period was rejected by its partners, who before the electoral marathon of this 2023 they were not prepared to support any change that could be construed as a cut in benefits. That is why they have insisted on introducing the possibility of maintaining the current 25 years of contributions that the current calculation period contemplates, so that no future retiree can say that the coalition has cut their pension.
Social dialogue table
Once the stumbling block within the coalition has been cleared and a minimum of parliamentary support has been tied, Escrivá has summoned employer y unions this Friday to try to agree with them on the reform. Once the ‘plácet’ of Unidas Podemos has been achieved, the ‘yes’ of the unions is leveled, while the proposal increases Social Security income and does not imply worse benefits.
The one who is more than likely to completely reject the proposal that the Government will put on the table is the employers, since it will be the companies, especially the large ones, who will mainly pay for the reform. “The ‘voracity‘ Collection of Escrivá and the Government has no limits. Everything indicates that the increase in the cost of pensions will cover it with a strong increase in contributions, putting employment and the viability of companies and the self-employed at serious risk, which it will continue to fleece,” the vice president of CEOE Lawrence Love.