Special Scheme for Sea Workers

Mandatory insurance

• Paid workers and self-employed workers who perform maritime/fishing activities.

Voluntary insurance

• No possibilities for voluntary insurance in this scheme.

General finances

• It is PAYG-financed from social security contributions paid by the self-employed or employers and employees.

• There is no specific contribution for old age pensions. Retirement falls within the legal concept of common contingencies together with other social risks.

Contribution rates

• Fixed share of monthly gross earnings (28.3%) with minimum and maximum contribution base ceilings.

• Contributions are shared between the employer (23.6%) and employees (4.7%). Self-employed workers pay full rate themselves.

Taxation of contribution payments

• Social contributions are deductible expenses from the Personal Income Tax.

• The ‘Social Marine Institute’  (Instituto Social de la Marina, ISM) manages the scheme.

Qualifying conditions

• The statutory retirement age is the same as for the general scheme.
• Retirement ages can be lower in certain jobs due to hardness, difficult conditions, remoteness, etc. in which work is carried out at sea, and which make it possible to reduce the retirement age by up to a maximum of 10 years compared to the standard retirement age.
• The period of time in which the worker's retirement age is lowered will be computed as a period of contributions in order to increase the percentage of the pension benefit for years of contribution.
• Both the reduction in age and the computation of that period for the purposes of the percentage will apply even if the person is granted a pension from any other special or general social security scheme.

Early retirement

• Early retirement due to membership in a mutual society (Mutualismo Laboral)¹ from the age of 60 is possible with negative (permanent) adjustments to pension benefits (same conditions as in the general scheme).
• Early retirement without being affiliated to a mutual society (Mutualismo Laboral) at age 61 is possible only for employees (not self-employed workers) under the same conditions as in the general scheme.

Deferred retirement

• Retirement can be voluntarily deferred beyond the standard retirement age, on a full-time or part-time basis, after a minimum contribution period (37 years or more for persons aged 65, or less than 37 years of contribution for persons aged 65 and 10 months) has been completed and with special contribution considerations (contribution only for occupational risks and for temporary incapacity to work); with positive (permanent) adjustments to pension benefits (additional percentage for each full year of contributions: 2% up to 25 years of contribution, 2.75% between 25 and 37 years, and 4% as of 37 years).

Combining employment & retirement

• Termination of employment is not a precondition for claiming pension benefits.
• Partial retirement  and  flexible retirement are possible only for employees (not self-employed workers) under the same conditions as in the general scheme.

Pension benefits

• Employed persons and workers will be entitled to their pensions under the same conditions as in the general scheme.
• Self-employed workers´ pension will be recognised according the current regulation of the special scheme for self-employed workers.

Benefit calculation

• For workers: same as for the general scheme.
• For self-employed workers: same as for the special scheme for self-employed workers.

Taxation and social security contributions

• Pension benefits are subject to tax according to the rules applicable to income from work.
• Pension benefits are not subject to social contributions.
• In cases of compatibility of pension and work, there is a special solidarity contribution of 9% of the contribution base for common contingencies.