The Ministry of Inclusion and Social Security proposes a drastic reduction in the fees that scientists and researchers will have to pay for the retroactive regularization of old internship periods. The main change involves allowing that, instead of establishing the contribution based on the current quota, those of the year in which the activities were carried out are applied.
In this way, what would be around 290 euros for each month that would be recovered according to the current regulations, would be 40 euros each month if the practice had taken place in the eighties, or 140 euros if it had been carried out until 2006, according to the unions’ calculations. For their part, from the ministry they give another indicative figure. If the quota to be applied was that of 1997, the amount would be 101 euros. There is another added element with a very different impact, and it is the possibility of deducting the quota on the income statement.
It is the approach that the Minister of Inclusion and Social Security, Elma Saiz, had advanced in Monday’s interview with La Vanguardia and that her team then communicated to the social agents at the dialogue table. The quotas are one of the issues that has given rise to the most protests because the former grantees, and in this area it particularly affects scientists and researchers, claim that it represents an excessive expenditure. They explained that a full five-year recovery at 290 euros per month meant they had to pay more than 17,000 euros. In this area, Social Security has corrected the trait.
Another prominent aspect of the ministry’s new plan is the extension of the rescue period. If a maximum of five years was foreseen, with the new approach it is possible to reach up to seven years in some cases. In other words, people who have already redeemed two years with the regulation that was established in 2011 will also be able to fully apply the new five-year period.
Two more additional modifications are to extend the period for payment installments up to a maximum of five years and to extend until December 31, 2027 the period for which interested parties can take advantage of this retroactive regularization.
Calculating the people who can take advantage of this retroactive regularization is a very difficult task, because an option is open to a certain number of grantees, but each one will have to calculate whether or not it suits them to pay these additional fees to recover pension rights . From the ministry they remember that in the 2011 regularization, 25,000 interns signed up to recover the contribution.
They also explain that this regularization “is an exceptional opportunity and procedure that former students and more senior researchers can add years of contribution to be able to access a pension or improve the amount”. They are the interns who did internships that were not paid and, therefore, did not grant retirement rights. It is a situation that has changed since January 1, when the fee for internships, both paid and unpaid, is already applied, and there are more than 600,000 students who already receive this protection, but it remains pending to recover the rights of previous years.
The ministerial order published by the Social Security on May 1 caused the revolt of scientists and researchers, which has led to this turn of the administration, which has been welcomed by the unions, although for the moment still there is no agreement They see it as a positive step, but it is not enough. “The Government has changed its position and has come close, but not enough”, said Carlos Bravo, Secretary of Public Policy of CC.OO. For her part, Cristina Estévez, Secretary of Institutional Policy of the UGT, has asked that the Government subsidize part of the fees that the former grantees will have to pay to recover their pension rights.