El Ministerio de Inclusión cumple sus compromisos de profundizar en la reforma de pensiones, mejorar el IMV y seguir modernizando la normativa de extranjería

The Ministry of Inclusion, Social Security and Migration has continued to comply with the commitments made for 2022, reaching new very important milestones, as reflected in the accountability report ‘Complying’ presented last week by the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez. A social agreement in the field of pensions that implements a new contribution model for the self-employed, based on their returns; the approval of the rule that promotes occupational pension plans; improvements in the Minimum Vital Income - which include new inclusion itineraries, the social seal or the Advisory Council - and the new modification of the Regulation on Foreigners are some of the advances registered with respect to the previous period.

Pensions

One of the most important steps for the reform and updating of the pension system in Spain was achieved last month with the greatest social consensus: the reform of the system of contributions of self-employed workers, agreed with the main organizations of the collective and with the social agents. This ambitious measure, which from 2023 will allow the self-employed to contribute according to their net income and will increase their social protection with a new protection scheme, has already been approved as Royal Decree-Law in the Council of Ministers, fulfilling one of the main commitments of the Plan of Recovery, Transformation and Resilience in the field of pensions.

During the first months of the year, the Law on Regulation for the Promotion of Occupational Pension Schemes, which involves the promotion of the second pillar, collective saving formulas for retirement, especially for the self-employed, public employees and workers of small and medium-sized enterprises, has also been approved by the Courts.

Minimum Vital Income

One of the key social protection policies of the legislature, the Minimum Vital Income (MVI), has continued to develop during the first months of 2022. In this period, the implementation of 18 other inclusion routes has been approved - pilot projects with Autonomous Communities, municipalities and third sector -, the social inclusion seal has been approved, which involves companies from the private sector and the public in the integration of IMV recipients, and the governance of this policy has been strengthened with the approval of the Follow-up Committee and the Advisory Council.

In addition, the National Plan to Respond to the Economic and Social Consequences of the Ukrainian War approved both the extraordinary increase of 15% in the amounts of IMV aid and the extension of the social bond to all beneficiaries of this aid.

Migrations

In the area of migration, the main milestone of the first half of the year was the approval and deployment of the Reception Plan for Displaced Persons from Ukraine following the Russian invasion on 24 February. It highlights the rapid implementation of the four Reception, Care and Referral Centres (CREADE) in Madrid, Barcelona, Alicante and Malaga that have allowed the temporary protection of more than 72,000 people, in addition to attending them and, if necessary, referring them to the resources of the reception system.

In addition, in March a regulation was approved that precisely regulates the reception system with the aim of strengthening the efficiency of the system. To this end, a harmonized catalogue of reception conditions was established, adjusting the capacity to the needs; a new long-term financing instrument was introduced, such as the social concert; and the system was given greater legal certainty with a standard comparable to that of the countries around us. This reform is the result of the current structure of the reception process in three phases: assessment and referral, reception and autonomy.

Regarding the commitments made in the field of migration within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, in recent weeks the second major reform of the regulation on foreigners has been approved, a measure aimed at modernizing and improving the Spanish migration system by rationalizing access to the labor market for self-employed and foreign students; updating the figures of social and labor roots and family reunification; creating a new possibility of roots by training or improving administrative management.