Thus, all the benefits of the self-employed would rise exponentially if they raise their quota by 100 euros

Since the beginning of their activity, the self-employed face two fixed expenses: taxes and contributions. However, unlike taxes, self-employed workers can choose how much they will contribute each month to Social Security, between minimum and maximum limits, and this decision will affect how much they will receive in the form of present benefits (sick leave, accident, maternity or cessation of activity) or future (retirement pension).

In fact, the quota is one of the investments with the highest return that the group can access, to the point of almost tripling the contributions, without running any risk. Without going any further, according to the calculations made by this newspaper based on the main benefits of the self-employed, by simply raising their quota by 100 euros, the self-employed will increase their benefits by between 145 euros, in the case of widowhood, for example, and 326 euros, in the case of maternity or paternity. This means that, for every euro that the self-employed person raises, they will receive up to 3.2 euros back in some cases.

Today, the self-employed can change their contribution base up to four times a year and, usually, they are allowed to raise or lower their base between 960 euros and 4,126 euros. Despite the fact that a good part of the group continues to think that the fee is one more expense and that it is invariable, the truth is that the majority of self-employed workers can raise or lower the fee several times a year between 293 euros and 1,260 euros per month.

Experts advise raising it whenever circumstances allow, since the fee that the self-employed pay every month to the Social Security Treasury will directly determine all the benefits that the group will receive in the future, but also in the present. Some of these benefits are well known, such as Temporary Disability due to common illness or accident, or retirement. However, others that are often not thought of, such as widowhood, maternity/paternity leave or the cessation of activity in the event that the business goes badly also depend on the basis for which the self-employed person is listed.

How much does each benefit go up if the self-employed raises his contribution by 100 euros?

All benefits are calculated based on the base chosen by the self-employed person. However, not all give the right to the same percentage of the base. To calculate the amount of each of the benefits, it must be taken into account that a certain percentage will be applied, which usually ranges between 50% and 100% of the base.

Therefore, the 'return' in the form of benefits on the investment made by the self-employed will vary depending on the benefit in question. Usually, the lowest are usually those generated by the death of the self-employed, such as widowhood, and the highest are retirement -provided that all the requirements are met- and maternity and paternity. Therefore, in these last benefits, logically, the increase in the quota will always have a greater impact.

Retirement: 280 euros more pension for every 100 euros that the contribution is raised

The best-known benefit and also the most complex to calculate is retirement. In the case of this pension, there would be several factors that influence the amount that the self-employed worker will receive upon retirement, but the most important would be two: the regulatory base and the percentages applicable to this base, according to the years of contribution career have the self-employed.

On the one hand, the regulatory base is calculated based on the contribution base. To calculate the regulatory base, currently, the last 25 years of contributions immediately prior to the previous month in which the contribution became effective are taken into account. retirement. This means that, to determine the amount of the benefit, the amount contributed during the last 300 months (25 years) will be divided by 350 -the result of including the two annual extraordinary payments that the pensioner will receive-.

This would be the regulatory base, but a percentage will have to be applied to this amount to determine what part the pensioner will receive from this regulatory base, since not everyone has to have contributed enough to access 100% of their benefit. Even if you are of legal retirement age, you do not always have enough years of contributions to collect your full pension. In any case, and to simplify the operation, the following example will take into account the situation of a self-employed person who has contributed in the last 25 years for the same base and who retires at the legal age, that is, 66 years and two months in 2022.

In this case:

Cessation of activity: 229 euros more in benefit for every 100 euros that the quota is raised

The cessation of activity, better known as 'unemployment of the self-employed' was until a few months ago a benefit almost unknown to most self-employed workers. However, the cessation became relevant with the beginning of the pandemic, when its access was finally made more flexible and self-employed workers were allowed to access it only by proving a decreed closure of their business, or with a minimum drop in income.

It is not yet known what will happen to the requirements for access to this benefit once the pandemic ends and if some of the extraordinary conditions will be maintained. However, what is known is that, as of today, to calculate For this benefit, a percentage of 70% is applied to the contribution base. Therefore, it is one of the benefits in which an increase in the fee would have the greatest impact.

Maternity or paternity leave: 326 euros more per month for every 100 euros that the fee rises

Like employed workers, the self-employed with children have the right to request paternity leave or maternity. In 2022, both fathers and mothers are entitled to a 16-week leave of benefit, that is, 112 days. Both the leave for mothers and fathers will begin from the moment of hospitalization (even before, if requested) and must be notified to the Administration within a maximum period of 15 days from the moment of delivery.

The benefits for paternity or maternity will be 100% of the regulatory base, which will be calculated from the six months prior to the time of leave. In other words, the self-employed person will directly charge the base for which they are listed and, therefore, it is the benefit -along with retirement- in which a quota increase has the most effects.

Temporary disability

Temporary disability is a subsidy that tries to cover the lack of income that occurs when the self-employed worker is temporarily unable to work and requires health care from Social Security. However, and unlike other benefits, the IT varies -both in access requirements and in amount- depending on the cause that originates it.

Thus, the self-employed benefit will increase to a greater or lesser extent for each increase in quota depending on whether your Temporary Disability is due to a common illness -such as the flu- or a work-related illness or accident.

IT due to common illness: increase of between 6.5 and 8.15 euros per day

All the self-employed who have more than 180 days -half a year- contributed can access Temporary Disability due to illness common or non-work accident.

To calculate this benefit, only the contribution base of the self-employed worker is taken into account one month before the medical leave and a percentage of 60% of the regulatory base is applied from the 4th to the 20th day of the low, inclusive. Then it will be 75%, from the 21st day of the withdrawal.

IT due to accident or illness at work: increase of 8.15 euros per day

In the event that the leave of the self-employed is caused by an accident at work or an illness derived from the activity, the performance will be more advantageous.

In this case there is no minimum contribution period and to calculate this benefit, only the self-employed worker's contribution base is taken into account one month before the month of medical leave and a percentage of 75% of the regulatory base from day one. In other words, in this case, the increase for every 100 euros of contribution would have the same impact as in the case of IT due to illness from the 21st. Therefore, your benefit would increase by 8.15 euros per day for the duration of the his low.

Widowhood: 145 euros more pension for every 100 euros that the contribution is raised

Currently, in Spain there are more than 470,000 people receiving a widowhood pension. The beneficiaries of a widow's pension are those who have had a marriage relationship with the deceased or have been a common-law partner of the same . Therefore, this pension includes marriage (in which the beneficiary will not have to prove more than the relationship itself); separated, divorced, and people whose marriage was declared null and common law at the time of death.

In order to calculate the pension that will remain to the spouse of the deceased self-employed person, different factors must be taken into account. Social Security stipulates, as a general rule for the spouse, a pension of 52% of the self-employed regulatory base.