Stopping work does not always mean necessarily stopping contributions. Social Security has a figure that allows certain people to continue making contributions even if they no longer maintain an employment relationship: the special agreement.
This mechanism can be especially relevant for workers who lose their job, people who have a lower contribution base, or citizens who need to complete their contribution career in anticipation of a future retirement. However, it is not a formula automatically open to anyone who wants to pay contributions, but there are specific requirements, deadlines, and rules.
Furthermore, there is a fundamental difference compared to an active worker: as a general rule, those who subscribe to the agreement must personally assume the cost of the fees.
What is a special agreement with Social Security
The special agreement is an agreement with the General Treasury of Social Security (TGSS) through which a person can maintain or expand certain contributions when they are in one of the situations provided for by the regulations.
Its purpose is to preserve protection against certain contingencies after the ordinary obligation to contribute has disappeared or been reduced.
It does not imply having an employment contract or receiving a salary. The interested party makes the corresponding contributions to maintain their contribution status for certain benefits.
What is the purpose of continuing to contribute without working
The special agreement can protect against contingencies such as retirement, permanent disability, and death and survival resulting from common illness and non-work-related accidents, according to the applicable conditions.
This explains why it is a particularly relevant tool for people who are close to retirement age and lose their job.
A prolonged period with lower contributions or without contributions can have consequences on access to or the amount of certain benefits. Through the agreement, the interested party can continue contributing to the system within the established limits.
Who can apply for a special agreement
There are different modalities of special agreements and each one has its own conditions. The ordinary agreement includes, among other cases, certain workers who drop out of a Social Security scheme, cease to be included in it, or move to certain situations in which their contributions decrease.
There are also specific agreements aimed at specific groups or circumstances, so not all cases are processed through exactly the same procedure.
Among the profiles for which this figure may be relevant are people who have stopped working, workers whose new activity involves lower bases, and certain citizens who return to Spain after having developed their activity abroad.
In other cases, such as certain situations related to the care of family members or people with disabilities, there are specific modalities and own rules, so it is advisable to check which agreement is applicable before applying for the ordinary one.
The requirement of prior contributions
One of the main requirements of the ordinary special agreement is to prove, in general, 1,080 days of contributions within the twelve years immediately preceding the situation that gives rise to the application, according to the rules established by Social Security.
However, there are particularities about the periods that can be counted and modalities of agreements that have different requirements.
Therefore, before assuming that an agreement can be signed, it is advisable to check both the specific situation of the worker and the corresponding modality.
How much does a special agreement with Social Security cost
There is no single identical fee for all subscribers.
The cost fundamentally depends on the chosen or corresponding contribution base, within the possibilities allowed by the regulations in each case. On that base, the corresponding contribution rate and the coefficients established to determine the fee are applied.
The regulation allows, depending on the situation of the interested party, to choose between certain bases, which may be linked to the previous contributions of the worker, to minimum bases, or to other amounts accepted by the system.
Therefore, a person who wants to use an agreement to maintain a high base before retiring will also have to consider the monthly outlay that maintaining that contribution entails.
The TGSS is responsible for determining the fee that must be paid once the agreement is formalized.
Can you choose how much to contribute?
There is some margin to choose the base, but you cannot freely set any amount.
The regulations establish the available options and their limits, taking into account, among other factors, the bases on which the interested party has previously contributed and the bases in force in the system.
This decision can be especially important for those who use the agreement during the years leading up to retirement, as the chosen base can impact the contributions that will later be included in the pension calculation.
Before choosing a high base, it is advisable, therefore, to study whether the additional cost really translates into a sufficient improvement of the future benefit.
When to apply for it
The deadline is another important element.
The ordinary special agreement can be requested within the established deadlines from the moment the situation that allows access to it occurs. The date of submission can affect the effects of the agreement, so delaying the application can have consequences.
In certain cases, applying within the first 90 calendar days allows its effects to take place from an earlier date linked to the cessation or the situation that originated the right. If submitted later, the effects may begin from the date of application.
There is, in general, a maximum period to request certain modalities, so it is not advisable to wait indefinitely.
How to apply for the special agreement
The management corresponds to the General Treasury of the Social Security.
The application can be made through the channels enabled by the TGSS, including its electronic services when available for the corresponding procedure.
The interested party must provide the necessary information to prove that they meet the requirements and select, when appropriate, the base on which they wish to contribute.
Once subscribed, they must periodically pay the fees while the agreement remains in force.
What happens if you go back to work
Signing a special agreement does not necessarily mean that it will remain unchanged until retirement.
The start of a new work activity can affect the agreement depending on the situation and the bases on which the worker will contribute again. In certain cases, its suspension or extinction may occur, while in others there may be rules that allow it to be maintained when the new contributions are lower.
It can also be extinguished for other legally provided causes, including the lack of payment of contributions under certain circumstances.
Is it worth paying a special agreement before retiring?
There is no single answer.
For a person who is close to retiring, maintaining contributions may be interesting if a period without contributions or with lower bases significantly harms their future pension. But the accumulated cost of the agreement can reach significant amounts, especially when high bases are chosen for several years.
Before subscribing to it, it is advisable to know at least three pieces of information: how much time is left to access retirement, what contribution bases the worker has accumulated, and how much their pension would likely change with and without the agreement.
The special agreement should therefore be understood as a tool to maintain certain contributions and not as an automatic way to buy years of retirement. Its usefulness will depend on the work career and the circumstances of each person.