Retirement in Spain. Pension and Insurance in Spain

How often do romantic melodramas show pensioners who, having gone on a well-deserved rest, go on exotic trips around the world, and a pension in Spain can easily cover such luxurious requests. What seems fantastic and improbable to the domestic layman, is the norm for the Spaniards. The opportunity to relax and travel, do what you love, not counting a penny, and also help children and great-grandchildren are far from a limited list of privileges allowed by the amount of pension provision.

Possibilities

The Spanish pension system is not only sufficient financial security, but also the accompanying assortment additional benefits. The main ones include:

free medical care;
the opportunity to receive medicines free of charge;
free travel in public transport;
reduced prices for products;
providing discounted and ridiculously low cost travel packages for interesting places Europe (organized for groups of pensioners under the all-inclusive program).

For almost 30 years, the Institute has been operating in the country social assistance persons old age. Actually, thanks to this set of measures, it is possible to guarantee a comfortable life for all pensioners.

One of the essential aspects of organizing the life of a Spanish pensioner is the formation of interesting leisure activities. In almost every city there is a special Center where various courses and trainings are organized for the elderly, ranging from cross-stitching to sports dancing.
Thus, the pension policy is aimed at the comprehensive protection of pensioners and the organization of their leisure.

Sources

Pensions in Spain are formed from several sources of income. Namely:

state (formed from automatically carried out transfers from a salary in favor of the state);
social (provides benefits for those who, by virtue of different reasons could not accumulate seniority, as well as for certain categories of men and women of advanced age requiring special attention state);
private (includes voluntary contributions to personal accounts in private pension funds).

Last year the average size pensions in the country amounted to 910 euros, which is much higher than the European average. Minimum amount pensioner's security amounted to 650 euros, then the maximum figures can reach three thousand. This high performance, considering that the basic goods and services rely on pensioners with significant benefits and discounts.

Read also Features and order early exit on retire

The formation of the amount of the Spanish allowance is based on the calculation wages for all the years of labor, which it is desirable to accumulate 30. So, for fifteen recent years of work, the average amount of income is deducted, and previous years require reindexation. Having calculated average earnings for the entire period official employment, the amount of the allowance is formed.

Important! Pension in Spain is a percentage of the average salary, which for the majority of Spaniards is 80%. Boundary boxes fluctuate between 60%-100%, which is much higher than the sizes of other countries in Europe and the world.

Even if the length of service received is less than 30 years, then do not despair, since the pension in Spain will still be paid, but in the following equivalent:

15 years provide payments in the amount of half of the average income;
25 years is 60%;
for each year over 35 years of formal employment, a 2% allowance is due for every twelve months of work.

Other principles for the distribution of pension benefits include the following:

payments to men are an order of magnitude higher than the benefits provided for women;
the regional factor also influences;
vacancy and official salary are the main regulators of the amount of pension payments;
disabled pensioners receive an additional 50% of the allowance in addition to the minimum pension.

Additional aspects

In addition to work experience, age also affects the possibility of receiving benefits. So, they provide for such possible years of retirement for a well-deserved rest:

67 years - the general retirement age in Spain, the achievement of which is desirable for both men and women;
65 - when there is at least 38.5 years of work experience or when during given period time without official employment, regular deductions were made in favor of the state;
60 - in cases where the countdown working years started up to 1967 inclusive;
61 - if the termination of labor relations was forced and did not depend on the desire of the employee to continue working;
64 - upon accrual special types pension benefits.

Reaching the specified age is not a mandatory basis for termination of employment. Spain provides for partial employment of pensioners. In this case, they will also pay a part due pension. Additionally, there are benefits in the field of medical care.

Read also The procedure for receiving a pension for a deceased pensioner

visitors

It should immediately be said that a citizen of the Russian Federation can not only count on social benefits, but has a chance to receive full pension payments. For Russians, according to pension legislation and international agreements, special rules have been established for maintenance after reaching old age.

Unlimited Benefit

Between the two countries Spain-Russia, an agreement was ratified on mutual social support citizens. By virtue of this agreement, it is approved that every Russian who is officially employed in Spain, in the presence of a general seniority at the age of 15 (work at home is also taken into account, but work in Spain must be at least 12 months) goes on a well-deserved rest on a common basis with the Spaniards, and allowance the fact of having another citizenship will not affect. Thus, a citizen of Russia can count on approximate size Spanish compensation of 700 euros.

In addition, the possibility of simultaneous registration of two benefits - a Russian pension and a Spanish one - is not ruled out. Given that in our country, according to the requirements of the system, pensions are assigned earlier by age (women at 55, men at 60), if there are sufficient circumstances, you can apply for pension compensation. Later, the same package of papers is submitted to Spain, but foreign payments will be made minus domestic content.

Help

Those foreign citizens who do not have work experience recorded in the Spanish register will not be left without attention. In this case, the accrual of social benefits in the amount of approximately 450 euros per month is provided. But this content is not for everyone. To be able to issue social payments You must have legally resided in Spain for at least ten years.

Throughout this period, with the established frequency, you will have to visit the embassy, confirming the presence of at least a minimum legal income.

Private funds

On the territory of the country, it is possible to organize a target savings account in order to independently save for retirement. It is formed on the basis of banking institutions and provides for the need for regular replenishment with a fixed amount. This money is put into circulation, from which the depositor receives additional interest.

Retirement in Spain

Pension and insurance provision

The main types of state pension paid in Spain are old-age, disability and survivors' pensions.

There are special occupational pensions for employees Agriculture, for sailors, for miners. As in Russia, if a person is entitled to several types of pension, when receiving it, he chooses only one.

When calculating it, the income from which the employee paid contributions to the social insurance system over the past two years is taken as the basis. The income of the previous 13 years is also taken into account with indexation in accordance with the rise in prices. With 25 years of experience, the average Spaniard's pension is about 900 euros per month.

Retirees are allowed to work in Spain, but not full-time and on condition that they submit an appropriate application to the social insurance authorities. At the same time, the amount of pension paid to them is reduced.

In order to become a recipient of a Spanish pension, you must enter here able-bodied, legalize and work for at least 5 years to replenish the pension fund (or live the same period due to constantly proven support from relatives).

Pensioners in Spain enjoy free medical care, receive conventional medicines at a 90% discount (other medicines at a 60% discount).

Often, pensioners, having been refused a free clinic due to the lack of an appropriate specialist, are treated in a private clinic, and then demand compensation from the state through the courts. Many pensioners, leaving Russia, fear how they will live without their district clinic. But in Spain there are no problems with medical care.

If you have relatives in Spain, they will easily put you in their family book, and after 1.5 months you will receive a medical card (tarjeta de sanidad) at the Centro de Salud (polyclinic at the place of residence), get acquainted with the "medico de cabecera" (district doctor). You will be tested free of charge, and if necessary, they will prescribe treatment.

And most importantly, you will receive almost free of charge all the medicines. To restore the payment of pensions to Russian citizens, it is necessary to submit to the Russian Consulate your valid Russian passport with a mark on consular registration and an application.

Citizens of Russia who wish to receive a pension in Russia should personally apply at the consulate:

Application to the body social security indicating the personal account number and bank details in Russia. Consular fee - 33 euros.

Certificate of being alive. Consular fee - 30 euros.

If necessary - a power of attorney to receive money indicating the account number and bank details (full name of the authorized person, his passport details and address at which he is registered). Consular fee - 35 euros.

If it is impossible to apply in person to the consulate, the certificate is issued as follows:

1. The applicant applies to the Spanish notary of the place of residence and draws up a document confirming the fact of being alive.

2. Certificate issued by a notary Spanish it is necessary to translate and notarize the translation into Russian, and independently send it to the social protection authority at the place of accrual of the pension. Newsletter pension documents to the district social security authorities (if the pension is received according to former place residence of a pensioner in Russia) the consulate does not produce.

Who gets paid?

This contract applies exclusively to such a person who simultaneously meets three conditions:

He must be a citizen of Russia or Spain (citizens of other countries, including those of which the USSR used to be, have no right to social security under this agreement);

The average monthly pension is 850 €. The retirement age is 65 and 67 respectively.

The pension is 60-80%, and sometimes up to 100%, of the average salary. In 2013, a law will come into force, according to which, in order to receive an old-age pension, 37 years of work experience will be required.

He must work (either for hire, or, as they say, in self-employment) on the territory of one of our countries;

It must be subject to the law Russian Federation or Spain, which regulates what constitutes the subject of the contract (and the subject of the contract is the regulation of the procedure for paying insurance premiums during the period of work.

However, if by the time of applying for a pension or allowance, a person has already left work and is subject to social security legislation, this does not mean that he is deprived of the right to these pensions and allowances - the main thing is that he pays the due contributions while working).

So, the question of under whose legislation a person falls is decided depending on whose territory he works. However, there are a few exceptions to this.

The first concerns business travelers. If a certain Russian was sent to work in Spanish enterprises, then the administration that sent him turns to Pension Fund with a request to issue him a certificate certifying that Russian legislation continues to apply to him.

He will show this evidence in Spain - and the social security authorities there will not charge him insurance premiums. But his native Russian enterprise will pay for it as much as it should be in Russian insurance funds.

Further exceptions are related to workers transport companies who travel from Russia to Spain and back - they are subject to the laws of the country where the administration is located.

Sailors who are constantly moving are not subject to the agreement - they are subject to the laws of the country whose flag they fly; Employees of diplomatic and consular institutions live a completely separate retirement life.

But employees of Russian-Spanish joint ventures are the only people who have the right to choose between the laws of the state on whose territory the enterprise is located and the laws of the country of their citizenship.

Principles of operation of the contract

Otherwise main principle treaties - citizens of both states fall under the jurisdiction exclusively of the state in whose territory they exercise labor activity and at the same time they are absolutely equal in their social rights and responsibilities. Each state ensures the payment of pensions and benefits, the rights to which have arisen under its legislation.

For pensioners, free medical care is provided in a state clinic. Common medicines are received with a 90% discount, other medicines - with a 60% discount. Travel by public transport is also preferential, and in some provinces it is free.

Questions of experience

The length of service received by a person in our two countries is summed up, and he, a person, has the right to simultaneously apply for both Russian and Spanish pensions.

Moreover, it does not matter in which country he lives at the same time - although this provision contradicts the Russian pension legislation, which does not provide for the appointment of a pension to persons already living outside the Russian Federation (the pension must be assigned before the person left).

But since international agreements are more important than domestic laws, such a contradiction will have to be put up with.

The summation of experience is needed here for what. Suppose a certain Spaniard worked in Russia for three years - and according to our law "On State Pensions" he is not entitled to anything, because the minimum required for a pension is 5 years. But this conditional Spaniard worked for 25 years at home, so it turns out that he has a total experience of 28 years, and this is worthy of every pension.

However, the summation of the length of service is applied only when determining the right to a pension, and does not affect its size. The amount depends on the labor (insurance) experience acquired in a particular territory, and is calculated according to local legislation.

The length of service is not cumulative if it does not reach a year and does not give the right to a pension under local law. However, if this happens simultaneously in both countries, then such short lengths of service will also be summed up - if this gives a person the right to retire in at least one of the countries. The periods of experience that overlap one another are not summed up.

I must say that the treaty contains several rules that are binding only for one of the countries.

Thus, Spain has made a unilateral undertaking allowing - contrary to its own legislation - its social security authorities to automatically credit the year of insurance premiums to those Spaniards who are children during civil war were taken to the Soviet Union. Now they are returning to their historical homeland, and there they are already waiting for a Spanish pension. And those who do not return, do not wait.

If you live in Spain, but have never officially worked here, then, alas, you will not be able to claim a Spanish pension. It is necessary to work in Spain for at least a year (experience for incomplete years is not taken into account). The only exception is the "children of war" - the Spaniards, brought in the 30s of the last century in the USSR.

Disability pensions, due to the loss of a breadwinner, due to an industrial injury or occupational disease, do not require the summation of the length of service, since in any case they are paid only by one state - the one whose legislation applied to a person at the time when he received an injury or occupational disease.

It happens that a person did not receive an occupational injury immediately, but because of many years of exposure to unhealthy working conditions on the body - and then the pension will be paid to him by the country in whose territory in last time work was carried out, which entailed the indicated occupational disease.

And, what is very important, the agreement obliges the state in whose territory the pensioner lives to guarantee the minimum level of his pension in accordance with local laws. That is, if someone receiving both old-age pensions, in aggregate, receives less than the minimum established in the country of residence, the local social security pays him the difference.

Of course, in practice this can only happen in Spain, where our pensioner with his 15-dollar pension does not even come close to the local minimum, so the Spanish side pays him the rest. The reverse situation - that what Spain pays would not be enough to reach the Russian minimum - is of purely academic interest, since in fact it is completely impossible.

Spain's parliament has approved an increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67.

The bill, approved by the government in January, was approved by deputies after the senate (upper house) made minor amendments to it. Now the Spaniards can retire at the age of 65 while receiving 100% pensions, provided that they have made contributions to the pension fund for 35 years, RIA Novosti reports.

Under the new law, which will come into force after 2013, in order to receive maximum pension, you will need a work experience of 37 years. At the same time, the Spaniards will still be able to retire at the age of 65, but this requires that their work experience is at least 38.5 years.

The pension bill was prepared as part of a reform package designed to improve the economic situation that threatened the country with a budget and debt crisis. The Russian Federation ratified the Social Security Treaty with the Kingdom of Spain on November 24, 1995, and it entered into force on February 23, 1996.

The agreement concerns Russian benefits for temporary disability, pregnancy and childbirth, at the birth of a child and for caring for him, for burial, labor pensions for old age, disability, on the occasion of the loss of a breadwinner, social pensions, allowances for families with children.

In Spain this Agreement affects benefits for temporary incapacity for work and maternity, benefits for old age, disability and loss of the breadwinner, benefits in connection with an accident at work and occupational disease, family benefits. The aforementioned Social Security Agreement contains specific provisions for accounting for seniority for each type of pension or benefit.

So, for example, when determining the right to temporary disability benefits, as well as childcare benefits in the Russian Federation or maternity benefits in Spain, each country will take into account the relevant insurance or work experience acquired in the territory of another country. The agreement on social insurance between Spain and Ukraine was signed on October 7, 1996 and entered into force on March 27, 1998.

The central issue of crediting seniority in this Agreement is resolved as follows. Upon application to the competent authority of the respective country, the labor pension in old age, based solely on the time that a person has worked in the territory of a given country. Then the quotation periods in both countries are summed up.

In the event that the final result gives the right to receive a pension, then the following rules for calculating the final amount are applied: first, the theoretical pension is determined by counting the quotation periods in another country, as if they took place in the territory of the country of calculation of pensions.

Secondly, the so-called proportional pension is calculated by applying to the above theoretical pension the proportion between the period worked in the country of accrual and the total period in both countries.

Pensioners in Spain enjoy free medical care, receive conventional medicines at a 90 percent discount (other medicines at a 60 percent discount).

Public medicine, of course, is less comfortable than private medicine: it cannot do without queues at polyclinics and a shortage of narrow specialists.

Often, pensioners, having been refused a free clinic due to the lack of an appropriate specialist, are treated in a private clinic, and then demand compensation from the state through the courts. Foreigners legally working in Spain are subject to the same rules for calculating pensions as for persons with Spanish citizenship.

Moreover, citizens of the Russian Federation permanently residing in Spain have some advantages in this regard. IN general case In order to be eligible for an old-age pension under current legislation, you must:

1. - to be registered in the social insurance register (Seguridad Social);

2. - have a total work experience of at least 15 years, of which at least two years must be in the 15-year period immediately prior to retirement;

3. - be aged 65 full years.

The amount of the pension is calculated based on general experience and the salary you will receive for the 15 years immediately preceding your retirement. In other words, if you are under fifty years old, the size of your current salary does not yet in any way affect the size of your future pension (but it certainly is affected by the length of service you are currently acquiring).

note that we are talking specifically about the salary - the so-called base salary (what appears on your payslip, it is also “nomina”, like “salario base”), all kinds of accruals, allowances and bonuses, often making up almost half of the resulting on hand amounts are not taken into account.

The salaries for these 180 months (15 years) are added up, of which the first 156 months are indexed to the inflation rate (IPC) that occurred in the respective years.

If the seniority was interrupted in the last 15 years, during these periods, the base salary is taken minimum size wages.

The resulting amount is divided by 210 (thus the actual average salary is somewhat underestimated) and multiplied by the seniority coefficient. The latter is 50% for 15 years of experience and increases linearly to 100% for 35 years of experience.

In other words, if you have exactly 15 years of service, the pension will be 50% of the calculated average base salary. If 20 years - two thirds and so on. With more than 35 years of experience, two percent for each year are added to the coefficient (36 years - 102%, 37 - 104% ...).

The length of service obtained in another country is not taken into account, unless Spain has a social security agreement with this country. Surprisingly, such an agreement has existed with Russia for about 10 years, and, consequently, citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached retirement age, Russian experience can be credited.

Let us dwell on this point and consider the hypothetical situation of a Russian immigrant retiring in Spain. Immediately have to upset the parents who came to the children for family reunification. To sum up the experience, it is necessary, of course, that both terms take place - both Russian and Spanish.

If you live in Spain, but have never officially worked here, then, alas, you will not be able to claim a Spanish pension. It is necessary to work in Spain for at least a year (experience for incomplete years is not taken into account). The only exceptions are the "children of war" - the Spaniards, who were brought to the USSR in the 1930s.

The summation of the length of service is carried out solely for the purpose of determining whether a person is in principle entitled to a pension, and does not affect its size, which is determined by the actual length of service in Spain. It follows from this that worrying about taking into account the Russian experience makes practical sense only in one case: if your Spanish experience does not reach the 15 years required by law, and the existing Russian one will help to “hold it out” to them.

Then, according to the current agreement, the state in whose territory the future pensioner lives (in our case, Spain) undertakes to pay the latter a certain amount of minimum pension. Unfortunately, this privilege currently applies only to citizens of the Russian Federation and Spain and does not apply to citizens of other republics of the former USSR.

To restore the payment of pensions to Russian citizens, it is necessary to submit to the Russian Consulate your valid Russian passport with a mark on consular registration and an application. Citizens of Russia who wish to receive a pension in Russia should personally apply at the consulate:

An application to the social security authority indicating the personal account number and bank details in Russia. Consular fee - 33 euros.

Certificate of being alive. Consular fee - 30 euros.

If it is impossible to apply in person to the consulate, the certificate is issued as follows:

1. The applicant applies to the Spanish notary of the place of residence and draws up a document confirming the fact of being alive.

2. A certificate issued by a notary in Spanish must be translated and notarized translation into Russian, and independently sent to the social security authority at the place of accrual of pensions. The consulate does not send out pension documents to the regional social security authorities (if the pension is received at the former place of residence of the pensioner in Russia).

How can a Russian get a pension in Spain?

Also read:

There is no topic in the world more exciting than receiving a pension and more difficult than accruing this pension. We understood this when we once wrote about the fact that an agreement on social security was concluded between Russia and Spain, according to which it sometimes happens that a Russian can receive a pension in Spanish. The excitement of the citizens, who immediately wanted to receive in Spanish, is approaching the pre-election intensity in its intensity, so I had to contact the Pension Fund for details. The pension fund explained everything to us decisively.

So yes. In fact, pensions are accrued to a person on a territorial basis - that is, the law of the country where the person lives is applied. But the Russian-Spanish agreement (the first and so far the only document of this kind signed by Russia) is based on the principle of proportionality - that is, a person falls under the legislation of the state where he works, and the costs of paying pensions in this case are distributed between countries according to length of service. acquired by a pensioner in the territory of each of them. And it looks more fair, since each country is responsible only for those years that were given for its benefit.

The minimum wage in Spain has been set at €21.11 per day or €633.30 per month. The average salary per year is 21,500 € including taxes. Russian system conversion to the average monthly salary is not possible, since most businesses in Spain pay according to a system that provides for 14 payments per year. Thus, the monthly salary almost doubles by the end of the year, due to holiday and Christmas bonuses.

What do they pay?

The subject of the agreement is old-age pensions, disability pensions, due to the loss of a breadwinner, temporary disability benefits, pregnancy, childbirth, and child care. And such types of social security as unemployment benefits remained outside the scope of the treaty, as, indeed, and payments for long service.

Who gets paid?

- it must be subject to the legislation of the Russian Federation or Spain, which regulates what constitutes the subject of the contract (and the subject of the contract is the regulation of the procedure for paying insurance premiums during the period of work. However, if by the time of applying for a pension or allowance a person has already left work and falls under the scope of social security legislation, this does not mean that he is deprived of the right to these pensions and benefits - the main thing is that he pays the due contributions while working).

The average monthly pension is 850 €. The retirement age is 65 and 67 respectively. The pension is 60-80%, and sometimes up to 100%, of the average salary. In 2013, a law will come into force, according to which, in order to receive an old-age pension, 37 years of work experience will be required.

Further exceptions are related to employees of transport companies who travel from Russia to Spain and back - they are subject to the laws of the country where the administration is located; constantly moving sailors are not subject to the agreement - they are subject to the laws of the country whose flag they fly; Employees of diplomatic and consular institutions live a completely separate retirement life.

Principles of operation of the contract

Questions of experience

The length of service received by a person in our two countries is summed up, and he, a person, has the right to simultaneously apply for both Russian and Spanish pensions. Moreover, it does not matter in which country he lives at the same time - although this provision contradicts Russian pension legislation, which does not provide for the appointment of a pension to persons already living outside the Russian Federation (the pension must be assigned before the person left). But since international agreements are more important than domestic laws, such a contradiction will have to be put up with.

The periods of experience that overlap one another are not summed up.

I must say that the treaty contains several rules that are binding only for one of the countries. For example, Spain assumed a unilateral obligation to allow - contrary to its own legislation - its social security authorities to automatically count the year of payment of insurance premiums to those Spaniards who were taken to the Soviet Union as children during the civil war. Now they are returning to their historical homeland, and there they are already waiting for a Spanish pension. And those who do not return, do not wait.

What to do

A person is only required to write applications for the appointment of pensions in both states and collect documents confirming his right to a pension. Then all this must be sent to the pension authorities at the place of permanent residence (and if this place is not in Russia or Spain, but somewhere else, somewhere else, in which of our countries the last work took place).

Then the pension authorities will exchange forms and other documents with each other, and the result of their correspondence will eventually reach the person.

It is also very important that the pension assigned before the emergence of the contract, at the request of the person, can be revised. But they won't pay him anything in hindsight.
And everyone will receive a pension at their place of residence.

Olga VOLKOVA
Foreigner #3 2000

Retirement in Spain

Have you purchased a property in Spain, obtained a residence permit and are considering a Spanish pension? This article contains useful information on the following questions:

How to apply for a Spanish pension to a citizen of Russia, Ukraine?
What is the amount of pension in Spain and how is it calculated?

How to get a pension in Spain

Russian and Ukrainian citizens have the right to receive a pension in Spain and credit the years worked in their homeland to the Spanish seniority. The opposite is also true, foreign work experience can be added to the Russian experience. A joint interstate agreement entitles foreigners not only to old-age pensions, but also to other payments and benefits (for loss of breadwinner, disability, pregnancy).

According to Spanish law, a pension seeker who has a passport or residence permit in Spain must meet the following requirements:

Reach 65 years old (for women) and 67 years old (for men).
Register with the Spanish Social Security Agency (Seguridad Social).
At the time of reaching retirement age, the applicant's minimum employment period must be 15 years. At the same time, at least 2 years of them must be worked out within 15 years immediately before retirement. For foreign applicants, a prerequisite is 1 year of work in Spain with the accrual of all payments to the social insurance office.

A package of documents for receiving a pension:

Application filled out according to the model (Pensión de jubilación CB);
An extract from the pension fund (Ukraine, Russia) with data on the length of service at home and the current amount of pension payments (all documents must be translated into Spanish and certified by a notary).
Residence permit or Spanish passport.

It is worth noting that according to Spanish law, the applicant can count on a minimum old-age pension, even if he does not have a Spanish work record. To do this, you must legally live in Spain for at least 10 years.

Pension amount

When calculating the amount of pension payments, the total length of service of the applicant (Spanish and foreign) and the amount of his salary are taken into account. Data for 18 previous years are taken into account. As a rule, the amount of the monthly pension in the presence of the required length of service is 50-85% of the salary. The calculation is also adjusted for inflation.

In 2014, the average pension payment in Spain was:

By age: 1304 euros;
Disability: 948 euros;
By widowhood: 649 euros;

Annually, the amount of social benefits is indexed taking into account annual inflation rates.

Russian Spain - our portal

Read the material from the newspaper KOMSOMOLSKAYA PRAVDA IN SPAIN. An expert answers questions from readers.

"I am 58 years old. I have been living in Spain for more than 3 years, I have a residence. Is it true that it is enough for me to work in Spain for one year under a contract with the payment of quotas in Seguridad Social, in order to receive a Spanish pension thereafter? And second: are there any agreements between Russia and Spain regarding pension provision?”

“Could you tell us about our rights when receiving a pension in Spain? We have been officially working for a Spanish company for several years now, we are registered with INEM and with the social security authorities, we pay all taxes. What kind of pension and at what age can we count on, is a pension paid to foreigners, how is it calculated? How much work experience do you need to have to receive a pension in Spain? Does work experience in other countries count?

The Tolmachev family, Valencia.

Our newspaper has already written more than once about the principles of pension provision in Spain in general and about the rights of our compatriots in this matter in particular. Because in their letters and phone calls many of our readers continue to be interested in this topic, today we decided to re-publish with minor changes and additions the material “What awaits us in old age”, which already appeared on our pages last year. Foreigners legally working in Spain are subject to the same rules for calculating pensions as for persons with Spanish citizenship. Moreover, citizens of the Russian Federation permanently residing in Spain have some advantages in this regard, which will be discussed a little later. In general, in order to be eligible for an old-age pension under current legislation, you must:

- be registered in the social insurance register (Seguridad Social);

- have a total work experience of at least 15 years, of which at least two years must fall on the 15-year period immediately before retirement;

- be over 65 years of age. The amount of the pension is calculated based on the total length of service and the amount of salary that you will receive during the 15 years immediately preceding the date of retirement.

In other words, if you are under fifty years old, the size of your current salary does not yet in any way affect the size of your future pension (but it certainly is affected by the length of service you are currently acquiring). Please note that we are talking specifically about salary - the so-called base salary (what appears on your payslip, it is also “nomina”, like “salario base”), all kinds of accruals, allowances and bonuses, often amounting to barely or not half of the amount received as a result on hand, are not taken into account. The salaries for these 180 months (15 years) are added up, of which the first 156 months are indexed to the inflation rate (IPC) that occurred in the respective years.

If the service has been interrupted in the last 15 years, the minimum wage is taken as the base salary during these periods. The resulting amount is divided by 210 (thus the actual average salary is somewhat underestimated) and multiplied by the seniority coefficient. The latter is 50% for 15 years of experience and increases linearly to 100% for 35 years of experience. In other words, if you have exactly 15 years of service, the pension will be 50% of the calculated average base salary. If 20 years - two-thirds, and so on. With an experience of more than 35 years, two percent for each year are added to the coefficient (36 years - 102%, 37 - 104%.). The length of service obtained in another country is not taken into account, unless Spain has a social security agreement with this country. Surprisingly, such an agreement has existed with Russia for about 10 years, and, therefore, citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached retirement age in Spain can be credited with Russian experience. Let us dwell on this point and consider the hypothetical situation of a Russian immigrant retiring in Spain. Immediately have to upset the parents who came to the children for family reunification. To sum up the experience, it is necessary, of course, that both terms take place - both Russian and Spanish. If you live in Spain, but have never officially worked here, then, alas, you will not be able to claim a Spanish pension. It is necessary to work in Spain for at least a year (experience for incomplete years is not taken into account). The only exception is "children of war"? Spaniards brought to the USSR in the 1930s. The summation of the length of service is carried out solely for the purpose of determining whether a person is in principle entitled to a pension, and does not affect its size, which is determined by the actual length of service in Spain. It follows from this that worrying about taking into account the Russian experience makes practical sense only in one case: if your Spanish experience does not reach the 15 years required by law, and the existing Russian one will help to “hold it out” to them. Then, according to the current agreement, the state in whose territory the future pensioner lives (in our case, Spain) undertakes to pay the latter a minimum pension determined by law. Unfortunately, this privilege currently applies only to citizens of the Russian Federation and Spain and does not apply to citizens of other republics of the former USSR.

www.russianspain.com

Retirement in Spain. Pension and insurance coverage in Spain.

Retirement in Spain

Pension and insurance provision

The main types of state pension paid in Spain are old-age, disability and survivors' pensions.

There are special professional pensions for agricultural workers, for sailors, for miners. As in Russia, if a person is entitled to several types of pension, when receiving it, he chooses only one.

Pensioners in Spain enjoy free medical care, receive conventional medicines at a 90% discount (other medicines at a 60% discount).

Citizens of Russia who wish to receive a pension in Russia should personally apply at the consulate:

If it is impossible to apply in person to the consulate, the certificate is issued as follows:

This contract applies exclusively to such a person who simultaneously meets three conditions:

- he must be a citizen of Russia or Spain (citizens of other countries, including those of which the USSR used to be, have no right to social security under this agreement);

The average monthly pension is 850 €. The retirement age is 65 and 67 respectively.

- he must work (either for hire, or, as they say, in self-employment) on the territory of one of our countries;

So, the question of under whose legislation a person falls is decided depending on whose territory he works. However, there are a few exceptions to this.

The first concerns business travelers. If a certain Russian was sent to work in Spanish enterprises, then the administration that sent him turns to the Pension Fund with a request to issue him a certificate certifying that Russian legislation continues to apply to him.

“He will show this certificate in Spain - and the social security authorities there will not take insurance premiums from him. But his native Russian enterprise will pay for it as much as it should be in Russian insurance funds.

Further exceptions are related to employees of transport companies who travel from Russia to Spain and back - they are subject to the laws of the country where the administration is located.

Sailors who are constantly on the move are not subject to the agreement - they are subject to the laws of the country whose flag they fly; Employees of diplomatic and consular institutions live a completely separate retirement life.

Principles of operation of the contract

Otherwise, the main principle of the agreement is that citizens of both states fall under the jurisdiction exclusively of the state in whose territory they carry out labor activities and at the same time they are absolutely equal in their social rights and obligations. Each state ensures the payment of pensions and benefits, the rights to which have arisen under its legislation.

For pensioners, free medical care is provided in a state clinic. Common medicines are received at a 90% discount, other medicines at a 60% discount. Travel by public transport is also preferential, and in some provinces it is free.

The length of service received by a person in our two countries is summed up, and he, a person, has the right to simultaneously apply for both Russian and Spanish pensions.

Moreover, it does not matter in which country he lives at the same time - although this provision contradicts Russian pension legislation, which does not provide for the appointment of a pension to persons already living outside the Russian Federation (the pension must be assigned before the person left).

But since international agreements are more important than domestic laws, such a contradiction will have to be put up with.

The summation of experience is needed here for what. Suppose a certain Spaniard has worked in Russia for three years - and according to our law "On State Pensions" he is not entitled to anything, because the minimum required for a pension is 5 years. But this conditional Spaniard worked for 25 years at home, so it turns out that he has a total experience of 28 years, and this is worthy of every pension.

I must say that the treaty contains several rules that are binding only for one of the countries.

For example, Spain assumed a unilateral obligation to allow - contrary to its own legislation - its social security authorities to automatically count the year of payment of insurance premiums to those Spaniards who were taken to the Soviet Union as children during the civil war. Now they are returning to their historical homeland, and there they are already waiting for a Spanish pension. And those who do not return, do not wait.

Disability pensions, due to the loss of a breadwinner, due to an industrial injury or an occupational disease, do not require the summation of the length of service, since in any case they are paid only by one state - the one whose legislation applied to a person at the time when he received an injury or an occupational disease.

It happens that a person did not receive a professional injury immediately, but because of many years of exposure to unhealthy working conditions on the body - and then the country in whose territory the work was last performed, which entailed the specified occupational disease, will pay him a pension.

Spain's parliament has approved an increase in the retirement age from 65 to 67.

According to the new law, which will come into force after 2013, in order to receive the maximum pension, a seniority of 37 years will be required. At the same time, the Spaniards will still be able to retire at the age of 65, but this requires that their work experience is at least 38.5 years.

The agreement covers Russian benefits for temporary disability, pregnancy and childbirth, at the birth of a child and for caring for him, for burial, labor pensions for old age, disability, survivors, social pensions, benefits for families with children.

In Spain, this Agreement covers temporary disability and maternity benefits, old age, disability and survivor benefits, benefits in connection with industrial accidents and occupational diseases, family benefits. The aforementioned Social Security Agreement contains specific provisions for accounting for seniority for each type of pension or benefit.

The central issue of crediting seniority in this Agreement is resolved as follows. By contacting the competent authority of the relevant country, the old-age labor pension is calculated based solely on the time that a person has worked in the territory of this country. Then the quotation periods in both countries are summed up.

Pensioners in Spain enjoy free medical care, receive conventional medicines at a 90 percent discount (other medicines at a 60 percent discount).

Public medicine, of course, is less comfortable than private medicine: it cannot do without queues at polyclinics and a shortage of narrow specialists.

Often, pensioners, having been refused a free clinic due to the lack of an appropriate specialist, are treated in a private clinic, and then demand compensation from the state through the courts. Foreigners legally working in Spain are subject to the same rules for calculating pensions as for persons with Spanish citizenship.

Moreover, citizens of the Russian Federation permanently residing in Spain have some advantages in this regard. In general, in order to be eligible for an old-age pension under current legislation, you must:

1. - to be registered in the social insurance register (Seguridad Social);

2. - have a total work experience of at least 15 years, of which at least two years must fall on the 15-year period immediately before retirement;

3. - be over 65 years of age.

The amount of the pension is calculated based on the total length of service and the amount of salary that you will receive during the 15 years immediately preceding the date of retirement. In other words, if you are under fifty years old, the size of your current salary does not yet in any way affect the size of your future pension (but it certainly is affected by the length of service you are currently acquiring).

Please note that we are talking specifically about the salary - the so-called base salary (what appears on your payslip, it is also “nomina”, like “salario base”), all kinds of accruals, allowances and bonuses, often amounting to barely or not half of the amount received as a result on hand, are not taken into account.

The salaries for these 180 months (15 years) are added up, of which the first 156 months are indexed to the inflation rate (IPC) that occurred in the respective years.

If the service has been interrupted in the last 15 years, the minimum wage is taken as the base salary during these periods.

In other words, if you have exactly 15 years of service, the pension will be 50% of the calculated average base salary. If 20 years - two-thirds, and so on. With an experience of more than 35 years, two percent for each year are added to the coefficient (36 years - 102%, 37 - 104%.).

The length of service obtained in another country is not taken into account, unless Spain has a social security agreement with this country. Surprisingly, such an agreement has existed with Russia for about 10 years, and, therefore, citizens of the Russian Federation who have reached retirement age in Spain can be credited with Russian experience.

If you live in Spain, but have never officially worked here, then, alas, you will not be able to claim a Spanish pension. It is necessary to work in Spain for at least a year (experience for incomplete years is not taken into account). The only exceptions are the "children of war" - the Spaniards, who were brought to the USSR in the 1930s.

Then, according to the current agreement, the state in whose territory the future pensioner lives (in our case, Spain) undertakes to pay the latter a minimum pension determined by law. Unfortunately, this privilege currently applies only to citizens of the Russian Federation and Spain and does not apply to citizens of other republics of the former USSR.

- an application to the social security authority indicating the personal account number and bank details in Russia. Consular fee - 33 euros.

- a certificate of the fact of being alive. Consular fee - 30 euros.

- if necessary - a power of attorney to receive money indicating the account number and bank details (full name of the authorized person, his passport data and the address at which he is registered). Consular fee - 35 euros.

1. The applicant applies to the Spanish notary of the place of residence and draws up a document confirming the fact of being alive.

The pension system in Spain is considered one of the best in Europe. This circumstance is connected with the fact that most of the country's inhabitants have a high income, which allows them to hope for a secure old age in the future. So, for example, usually after retirement, the Spaniards spend their time for recreation and entertainment, they go in for sports, travel.

In addition, the size of the pension here is such that pensioners are even able to help their children pay off their mortgage or a car loan. At the same time, the secret of such well-being lies in the ability to correctly invest your earnings in future pension. The Institute of Social Assistance established in 1985 helps the elderly to be active in old age. Its task is to provide them with various social services, for example, free medical care Or cheap products.

At the same time, the benefits for pensioners in Spain are not limited to those listed, since there is a very popular Government program to involve the elderly in the work of various circles and sections. They also attend computer science, needlework and singing classes. The most popular activities are choral singing and modeling.

Thanks to special programs approved and funded by the government, older people have the opportunity to visit museums, resorts, and historical places for free. The fare is paid entirely by the state. It includes not only the cost of the ticket itself, but also hotel accommodation with meals.

Types and amount of pensions

There are three types of pension in Spain:

normal, depending on the length of service. It is paid from the state social insurance fund.
special, intended for the maintenance of those persons who do not have or have insufficient pension experience.
private pensions paid by commercial pension funds.

The average pension in Spain is not too high compared to pensions paid in other EU countries, but at the same time it is quite decent. So, for example, the minimum size of a regular pension is 636 euros, and the maximum is 2567. As for the average pension, in 2016 it was 908 euros.

On average, the size of the pension payment is 80% of the amount of the former salary. Even in France this indicator is 80%. Great success has been achieved only by Greece, where the percentage of pension payments from wages is 95%.

Typically, the payments of pension amounts are monthly, while twice a year, namely: in June and December, another additional pension is also paid. If we talk about the formula for calculating the amount of the pension, then in Spain it depends on the amount of income from which the pension was paid to the Social Insurance Fund, as well as on the length of service. Usually, when calculating, the average earnings for the last 15 years are taken.

If we talk about the most wealthy, retired, representatives of certain specialties, then they include:

specialists in the field of it.
business owners.
bankers and economists.

Male pensioners in Spain receive more pensions than women, while the amount of payments also varies by region. So, for example, in the Basque Country it is 1114 euros, and in Madrid - 1064. The poorest can be considered Galician pensioners with their income of 759 euros.

It should also be noted that the amount of pension payments directly depends on the length of service. So, for example, if a person has worked for more than fifteen years, he can count on half his salary. Further, its size grows depending on the length of service and the amount of interest. As for the disabled and those in need of constant assistance, they can count on the amount of fifty percent of the minimum pension.

Retirement age limits

The retirement age in Spain is for women and men the same number of years - 67. At the same time, you will need to work at least 15. In addition, a period of minimum continuous work at two years old. If you want to get the most possible pension, you need to work 37 years.

In some cases, the retirement age can be reduced by three years. In this case, the size of the pension will be reduced. For this it is necessary long time pay social security contributions and meet certain special conditions.

It is also possible to work for pensioners, while it should be noted that life expectancy in Spain is an average of 83 years. Thus, working pensioners have the possibility of partial retirement. In this case, they get the opportunity to work part-time, while receiving only part of the pension. Health care benefits and 50% discounts on drugs remain.

The national government has developed special conditions pension maintenance of some categories of workers. This:

workers in the mining industry.
railroad workers and employees.
artists, painters and bullfighters.
service personnel of oil and gas platforms.
sailors and fishermen.

Personal retirement savings

Spanish pension system It also provides for the possibility of accumulating a sufficiently large supplementary pension. To do this, persons participating in such programs monthly deduct fifty to one hundred euros from their wages to special funds managed by banks. Received cash the fund invests in investments from income, from which an additional pension is then paid. In the second option, pension income is not fixed, but also variable, but the amount of pension here is much higher.

Such programs are co-financed by the state, in addition, such funds are provided with tax incentives and preferences. The pensioners themselves are provided tax deduction in the case of their participation in such programs in the amount of up to 50% of the taxable base. Unfortunately, so far the percentage of those participating in the accumulation of additional pensions in the country does not exceed twenty percent.

Getting pensions in Spain by foreigners

There are many foreign citizens living in Spain. Basically, these are representatives of the EU countries and they settle in the resort areas of the country. Former Russians relatively few here. At the same time, according to the agreement signed between Russia and Spain in 1996, our citizens will be able to receive a pension in this country. For this they need to without fail register in the Seguridad Social registry.

Russian Spaniards retire at the same age as the natives of the country. At the same time, they count the time worked in Russia as part of their work experience. If you have worked in this way for 15 years and one of them in Spain, you will be able to receive a pension of 7805 euros per year. It is also worth noting the fact that Russians can apply for a pension twice: according to Russian and Spanish laws, while the amount Russian pension will be subtracted from Spanish.

Problems of the Spanish pension system

Like all pension systems, the Spanish one experiences periodic crises. So at present it is considered unprofitable, as it bears too many social obligations. Despite the fact that the government of the country is still in control of the process, the growth of pensions has significantly decreased, and some analysts even predict an imminent collapse of the pension system.

The main reason for this phenomenon is considered to be the difficult demographic situation that has developed in Spain. The fact is that the population of the country is rapidly aging. At the same time, the birth rate remains low, and life expectancy is growing. In addition, there is high unemployment due to which young people leave the country. As a result, there is no one to support the elderly.

It is also worth noting the fact that other social payments here are also made at the expense of the pension fund. So, for example, Russians who never work can count on receiving benefits of 430 euros per month. To do this, it is quite enough for legal reasons to simply live in the country for ten years and have an income no higher than living wage. Indigenous Spaniards in this case can already receive up to seventeen thousand euros a year.

In order for the pension system to continue to fulfill its function, the government of the country has been pursuing a rather unpopular tough policy since 2011. It comes down to raising the retirement age and the length of service required to receive a pension. So, for example, in 2015, despite the protests of the population, it was decided to raise the retirement age by two years at once.

Despite the radicalness, this decision made it possible to somewhat mitigate the severity of the problem. In any case, in the very near future, the country's leadership should take a number of measures to radically change the current situation. To do this, it is planned to gradually reduce the wage/pension ratio by increasing labor productivity. In addition, it is planned to restrict the entry of migrants into the country in order to reduce the burden on the social system.

In any case, Spain remains an attractive country with a mild climate, where you can meet old age with dignity. To do this, it is enough to determine in advance in what form you will receive a pension here. It's also worth getting everything in advance. necessary consultations at home before leaving. In this case, you do not have to spend extra money to collect required documents to assign a pension, collecting the certificates you need in two different countries at once.

Main types state pensions paid in Spain are old-age, disability and survivor's pensions. There are special professional pensions for agricultural workers, for sailors, for miners.

As in Russia, if a person is entitled to several types of pensions, upon receipt, he chooses only one type. When calculating the pension, the income from which the employee paid contributions to the social insurance system over the past two years is taken as the basis. The income of the previous 13 years is also taken into account with indexation in accordance with the rise in prices.

With an experience of 25 years, the average Spaniard's pension is about 1030 euros per month.

For retirement, you must pay monthly social security contributions for at least 15 years and reach the age of 65. You can retire at the age of 61, but for this you need to be fired from your last job against your will, have 30 years of insurance experience and have been registered with the labor exchange for the last six months. Retirees are allowed to work in Spain, but not full-time and on condition that they submit an appropriate application to the social insurance authorities. At the same time, the amount of pension paid to them is reduced.

Pensioners in Spain enjoy free medical care, receive conventional medicines at a 90 percent discount (other medicines at a 60 percent discount). Public medicine, of course, is less comfortable than private medicine: it cannot do without queues at polyclinics and a shortage of narrow specialists. Often, pensioners, having been refused a free clinic due to the lack of an appropriate specialist, are treated in a private clinic, and then demand compensation from the state through the courts.

Many pensioners, leaving Russia, are afraid of being left without "their" district clinic. But in Spain there are no problems with medical care. If you have relatives in Spain, they will easily enter you in their family book, and after 1.5 months you will receive a medical card (tarjeta de sanidad) at the Centro de Salud (polyclinic at the place of residence), get acquainted with the "medico de cabecerao " (district doctor). You will be tested free of charge, and if necessary, treatment will be prescribed. And most importantly, you will receive almost free of charge all the medicines.

To restore the payment of pensions to Russian citizens, it is necessary to submit to the Consulate of Russia your current Russian passport with a mark on consular registration and an application.

Citizens of Russia who wish to receive a pension in Russia should personally apply at the consulate:

- an application to the social security authority indicating the personal account number and bank details in Russia. Consular fee - 33 euros;

- a certificate of the fact of being alive. Consular fee - 30 euros;

- if necessary - a power of attorney to receive money indicating the account number and bank details (name of the authorized person, his passport details and address at which he is registered). Consular fee - 35 euros;

Russian citizens who wish to receive a pension in Spain should personally apply at the consulate:

– an application to the Pension Fund of the Russian Federation indicating a personal account and bank details in Spain. Consular fee - 33 euros;

- a certificate of the fact of being alive. Consular fee - 30 euros.

If it is impossible to personally apply to the consulate, the certificate is issued as follows.

1. The applicant applies to the Spanish notary of the place of residence and draws up a document confirming the fact of being alive.

2. A certificate issued by a notary in Spanish must be translated into Russian and translated notarize, independently send to the social protection authority at the place of accrual of pensions. The consulate does not send out pension documents to the regional social security authorities (if the pension is received at the former place of residence of the pensioner in Russia).