Finding a new job in Spain when you are of a certain age is not easy. That is why the Public State Employment Service (SEPE) manages financial aid for people who are in this situation, as is the case with unemployment benefits for people over 52 years of age. This can be accessed by those who have lost their job and are close to the legal retirement age, but do not have the right to receive a pension or unemployment, having exhausted it or not having contributed long enough to Social Security. In order to receive it, it is essential to meet the requirements set by the public body under the Ministry of Labor and Social Economy, led by Yolanda Díaz, since, otherwise, there is a risk of losing this income.
This subsidy aims to provide financial support to people over the age of 52 who have lost their jobs and who, finally, have greater difficulties in re-entering the labor market. For this reason, one of its main characteristics is that you can receive it until you reach retirement age and you have the right to collect the contributory pension, as long as you haven’t found a job before.
In turn, the beneficiaries can receive the benefit while working and earning salary. According to the SEPE, it is possible to combine it with a job when you have a full-time contract, indefinite or temporary, of more than three months duration. For its part, the company must complete the importation of the subsidy up to the salary.
These are the reasons why the SEPE takes away your subsidy
As is the case with the rest of the aid that is in the hands of the SEPE, this body can withdraw the payment of the subsidy for people over 52 years of age to those who commit serious infractions, as indicated on its website. One of them is to reject a job offer that the public body considers “adequate” and that has been offered by the administration or placement agencies, unless there is justified cause.
In the event that the beneficiaries commit these infractions, the SEPE contemplates a loss of three or six months of the benefit or its termination, if it occurs repeatedly.
But this is not all: the public service also identifies as a serious infraction and, therefore, withdraws the subsidy, those who refuse to participate in employment or social collaboration programs, labor insertion or promotion actions, training or professional retraining, offered by the SEPE.
How much money is charged with the subsidy for people over 52 years of age
In order to receive the benefit, applicants must be unemployed and registered as a job seeker, have contributed for a retirement pension for at least 15 years, sign the activity commitment and that the monthly income does not exceed 75% of the salary Minimum Interprofessional (SMI), that is, 750 euros per month.
Those who meet the conditions that have been previously detailed can receive the subsidy for people over 52 years of age, the amount of which is 480 euros per month. This represents 80% of the Multiple Effects Public Income Indicator (IPREM).
The amount of this aid experienced a rise at the end of 2022, after the Government of Spain approved the increase of the IPREM up to 600 euros, as included in the General State Budget for 2023. Thus, it has gone from 463.21 euros per month to 480 euros per month.
