Early Retirement Of The Self-Employed And The Pension They Have Left

Everything that surrounds the self-employed always seems somewhat more convoluted, but these self-employed professionals are entitled to quite a few (not all) Social Security benefits compared to employed workers. The same thing happens with early retirement, although with its peculiarities.

The self-employed can retire early . The Social Security explains that all workers of the different regimes can benefit from it, for which they must meet a series of requirements that were designed with the pension reform in 2013, in which the self-employed began to benefit from this modality thanks to the text of Royal Decree-Law 5/2013, of March 15 , which includes these conditions:

-Exceeding the ordinary retirement age by a maximum of two years. In 2021 it is 65 years for workers with more than 37 years and 3 months worked and 66 years for the rest.

-Credit at least 35 years of contributions, without taking into account the proportional part of the extra payments and with the possibility of adding up to one year of compulsory military service, the military.

-Have listed at least two years within the last 15 years prior to the moment of causing the right or termination of the obligation to contribute.

-Have a pension amount higher than the minimum pension that would correspond to you due to your family situation when you turn 65.

These conditions are essential to guarantee access to early retirement for the self-employed, provided that such early retirement is voluntary. Social Security explains that for self-employed workers early retirement is not covered in cases of non-voluntary cessation of work and early retirement without having mutual status .

Knowing whether or not we have access to early retirement, the other key aspect is the amount of the resulting pension. As in all early retirements, part of the regulatory base is deducted from a certain part depending on how far retirement is advanced. The regulation contemplates the following reducing coefficients :

-In careers of less than 38 years and 6 months, 2% is discounted per quarter.

-For workers between 38 years and 6 months and 41 years and 6 months worked, 1.875% is discounted per quarter.

-For workers between 41 years and 6 months and 44 years and 6 months worked, the discount per quarter is 1.75%.

-Workers with more than 44 years and 6 months worked have a discount of 1.625% per quarter in advance.

Like everything else, the main problem for these freelancers is the contribution base for which they contribute . The vast majority of the sector tends to do so for the minimum base (currently 944.40 euros per month), which already makes a fairly fair retirement pension and which, in the case of early retirement, would leave even lower amounts after the reduction coefficients.

The possibility of increasing this contribution base decreases over time. Workers who, upon reaching 47 years of age, would have had a base lower than 2,052 euros per month will not be able, from that moment, to have bases above 2,077.80 euros per month.