Social Security in Spain
Encyclopedia
The Social Security system (Spanish
: Seguridad Social) in Spain
is its principal system of social protection
. The concept of Social Security first appeared in Spain in 1883 under the Committee for Social Reform, it was expanded several times during the twentieth century and finally the right to social security was enshrined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978
under Article 41 which states "that the public authorities shall maintain a public social security system for all citizens, guaranteeing sufficient support and social benefits in situations of need, especially in the event of unemployment, and that the support and additional benefits shall be free".
of Posada Herrera, who set up a government commission to examine
Social Reform in October 1883. 1900 Labour Accidents Act; 1919 Worker Retirement; Obligatory Maternity Insurance 1923; Forced Unemployment Insurance 1931; Obligatory Old-Age and Disability Insurance (SOVI) 1947;Social Security Bases Act 1963; General Social Security Act of 1966.
and envisages a varied system of benefits structured on three levels: basic social security, assistance to cover professional and employment categories and supplementary benefits.
Moreover, article 149.1.17 ª provides that the State has exclusive jurisdiction over basic legislation and financial regulation of the Social Security system, without prejudice to the performance of its services by the autonomous communities
.
As an important piece of evolving legislation, social security in Spain is regulated by Royal Decree 1 / 1994 of June 20, by adopting the text of the General Law on Social Security (BOE of 29). This regulation has been amended on numerous occasions.
Levels of security must reflect the initial and susequent contributor's working life.
Contributions (or payment of fees) are required from the commencement of a work activity (whether or not they have affiliated formally, at whatever level).
The scope of the act for the contributory category, includes those Spanish nationals who reside in Spain, and non-Spanish citizens who are residing or are staying legally in Spain, provided that in both cases they are carrying out their activities on Spanish national territory, and covers:
Protection provided by social security will include (cover):
In practise the non contributory category is understood to cover Spanish nationals resident in Spain.
The Social Security reserve fund for year ending 2007 was €45,715 million euros.
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
: Seguridad Social) in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
is its principal system of social protection
Social protection
Social protection, as defined by the United Nations Research Institute For Social Development, is concerned with preventing, managing, and overcoming situations that adversely affect people’s well being...
. The concept of Social Security first appeared in Spain in 1883 under the Committee for Social Reform, it was expanded several times during the twentieth century and finally the right to social security was enshrined in the Spanish Constitution of 1978
Spanish Constitution of 1978
-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
under Article 41 which states "that the public authorities shall maintain a public social security system for all citizens, guaranteeing sufficient support and social benefits in situations of need, especially in the event of unemployment, and that the support and additional benefits shall be free".
History of Spanish Social Security
Social security was first examined under the Liberal governmentLiberal Party (Spanish Restoration)
The Liberal Party was a Spanish political party created in 1880 by Práxedes Mateo Sagasta. With the Partido Conservador of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, it formed a bipartite system of alternating governments that characterised the Spanish Restoration during the final part of the 19th century and...
of Posada Herrera, who set up a government commission to examine
Social Reform in October 1883. 1900 Labour Accidents Act; 1919 Worker Retirement; Obligatory Maternity Insurance 1923; Forced Unemployment Insurance 1931; Obligatory Old-Age and Disability Insurance (SOVI) 1947;Social Security Bases Act 1963; General Social Security Act of 1966.
Social Security in the 1978 Spanish Constitution
The right to social security was enshrined in Article 41 of the Spanish Constitution of 1978Spanish Constitution of 1978
-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...
and envisages a varied system of benefits structured on three levels: basic social security, assistance to cover professional and employment categories and supplementary benefits.
Moreover, article 149.1.17 ª provides that the State has exclusive jurisdiction over basic legislation and financial regulation of the Social Security system, without prejudice to the performance of its services by the autonomous communities
Autonomous communities of Spain
An autonomous community In other languages of Spain:*Catalan/Valencian .*Galician .*Basque . The second article of the constitution recognizes the rights of "nationalities and regions" to self-government and declares the "indissoluble unity of the Spanish nation".Political power in Spain is...
.
As an important piece of evolving legislation, social security in Spain is regulated by Royal Decree 1 / 1994 of June 20, by adopting the text of the General Law on Social Security (BOE of 29). This regulation has been amended on numerous occasions.
Structure of the Spanish Social Security System
The Spanish social security system is structured as follows:- 1. General regulations, as most widely applied plus supplemental (stop-gap) others;
- 2. Special regulations that assess professional occupations by their nature, particular conditions of time and place or the nature of production processes:
-
- 1. Agriculture,
- 2. Self-employed,
- 3. Domestic employees,
- 4. Coal miners
- 5. Port and sea workers
- 6. Civil Servants (Muface)
Membership and Contributions
Membership is obligatory, unique and covers the entire life of the person included in the system.Levels of security must reflect the initial and susequent contributor's working life.
Contributions (or payment of fees) are required from the commencement of a work activity (whether or not they have affiliated formally, at whatever level).
Scope of Protection
The purpose of social security is to guarantee to those people who fall within the scope of the act, (those who carry out an occupational activity, or that meet the requirements of the non-contributory category, such as family members or dependants for whom they have responsibility), adequate protection against those contingencies and situations contemplated by the law.The scope of the act for the contributory category, includes those Spanish nationals who reside in Spain, and non-Spanish citizens who are residing or are staying legally in Spain, provided that in both cases they are carrying out their activities on Spanish national territory, and covers:
- Employees
- Self-employed or sole proprietor businesses
- Members of Associated Work Co-operatives
- Students
- Civil Servants
Protection provided by social security will include (cover):
- Healthcare (primary or hospitalisation)in the case of maternity,common, occupational illness or accidents, whether or not occupational;
- Professional care for said illnesses or accidents;
- Benefits for the following:
-
-
- Temporary incapacity
- Maternity
- Death and survival
- And for both contributory and non-contributory schemes:
-
- Invalidity
- Retirement
- Unemployment
- Employment retraining, rehabilitation of invalids and assistance for senior citizens;
- Also, in addition to the above, other social service benefits.
-
In practise the non contributory category is understood to cover Spanish nationals resident in Spain.
The Social Security reserve fund for year ending 2007 was €45,715 million euros.