On March 13, 2024, Adriano, a self-employed worker, then 67 years old, went to the office of the National Social Security Institute (INSS) to present his retirement papers. He wanted to retire. And of course collect his pension. The organization’s files contain Adriano’s registration with the Special Arrangement for Self-Employed Workers (RETA) dating back to at least 1974, so in theory he would have met all the requirements at age 67.
The problem is that it isn’t. To his surprise, only those who responded to social security workers 4,203 were contributed for the day5,475 (15 years) below that required to access retirement pension.
How is this gap possible? Very simple. Adriano may have been registered with RETA for decades, but he wasn’t always up to date with his self-employment fees. And this has affected the duration of the official list.
Farewell pension
We know about Adriano’s case thanks to a resolution published on the website of the General Council of the Judiciary (CGPJ), a document that allows us to follow chapter by chapter the bureaucratic-legal soap opera that this sexagenarian has followed.
The case dates back to March 2024, when the man requested that his retirement be recognized from February 27 of the same year.
Then came the surprise.
The INSS rejected his request, clarifying that he had contributed only 4,203 days during his career. In other words, he was missing three and a half years to reach the 5,475 days required to collect the pension. Adriano appealed, complaining that the length of time he had been in RETA was not taken into account, but the INSS stood its ground. It did not reach the minimum The law that establishes
The difference in criteria did not respond to an administrative failure or computer error in the records, but to a question of interpretation.
Throughout his life Adriano was not always up to date with his self-employment payments, but the man claimed that this “overdraft” had already been scheduled.
The question that remains in the air is… does this affect the year’s contribution calculation? This is not a minor issue as the INSS confirms that the sexagenarian has menstruated “discovered and determined” In the 80s, 90s and 2000s.
Convinced that he met the requirements to collect the pension, Adriano went to court. And it proved him right. In November 2024, the Social Court No. 4 of Palma de Mallorca ruled in favor of the worker, leading the INSS to take a step and go to the Superior Court of Justice (TSJ) of the Balearic Islands, which had just corrected the first magistrate and aligned itself with the INSS.
Apart from jurisprudence and legal technicalities, underlying problem It’s simple: How do unpaid contributions affect the calculation of a self-employed person’s contribution period? If we consider that they are assigned debt, will they add it or not?
Balearic TSJ is clear:
“Contributions that have not been paid do not allow them to be counted for purposes of reaching the required minimum contribution period, regardless of whether they have expired.”
“In the case of fixed installments, the invitation to pay does not apply, since they are loans and not payable, but it does not allow such unpaid installments to be counted when we are in the scope of RETA, where the person is not obliged to pay for the purpose of meeting the minimum contribution period required for entitlement to benefits.”
The High Court recalls that there is a previous ruling from June 2021, which recognizes that pending installments already due do not represent “an obstacle to considering that the person is up to date with payments” with the INSS; But clarifies: “This does not exclude the need to fulfill the remaining essential requirements and, in particular, fulfill Minimum grace period”
In other words:
“While unpaid and due installments do not preclude the fulfillment of the requirement to be up to date with the payment of the required installments, they do not serve to reach the waiting period.”
Adriano is currently without his retirement pension.
Picture | Carter Yocham (Unsplash)
In Xataka | He retired at the age of 67 with 142 days of unused vacation time. Instead of enjoying them, he gave them to his colleagues: “I leave them to those who need them.”
