The subsidy for people over 52 years old is one of the most relevant aids from the Public State Employment Service (SEPE), since, in addition to providing a monthly economic benefit, it maintains the contribution to Social Security while the beneficiary remains unemployed.
However, there is a difference that many are unaware of. The contributions made by SEPE during the collection of this subsidy do not serve to generate the right to a contributory retirement pension if the worker has not yet met the minimum contribution period required by Social Security.
What SEPE contributes during the subsidy
While a person receives the subsidy for people over 52 years old, SEPE pays contributions for the retirement contingency based on a reference base equivalent to 125% of the minimum contribution base of the General Regime in force at each moment.
These contributions have important effects on the future pension, but not all.
What those contributions are useful for
The regulations establish that the contributions made during the subsidy are taken into account for:
- Calculating the regulatory base of the future pension.
- Determining the percentage that corresponds to that regulatory base.
- Completing the required time to access early retirement when the legal requirements are met.
In practice, this means that they can improve the amount of the pension that the worker ultimately receives.
What they are not useful for
What many beneficiaries do not know is that those contributions do not allow reaching the minimum contribution period necessary to have the right to a contributory retirement pension.
That is, those who do not previously meet the years required by Social Security will not be able to use the contributions generated during the subsidy to complete that access requirement to the benefit.
How to check if the requirements are already met
Social Security has an official simulator that allows knowing the estimated retirement age and calculating an approximation of the future pension taking into account the contributions registered up to that moment.
It is also advisable to periodically review the contribution base report and the work history to ensure that all contributions are correctly listed before applying for retirement.