1. The Pension Subplan/Collective 1 may be participated in by staff who have an employment relationship with the University on a permanent or indefinite basis, as well as labour staff with a temporary contract with a minimum of tone month of service at USC.
2. Civil servant staff of administration and services who render their services in the University through an indefinite civil servant relationship as well as interim with one month of service in the USC may be participants in the Pension Subplan/Collective 2.
3. The following teaching staff serving at the University may participate in the Pension Subplan/Collective Pension 3:
- The staff of the University Teaching Corps who are on active service.
- Hired teaching staff, who provided services to USC for the minimum period of one month in the following categories:
- Assistant
- PhD assistant teaching staff
- Collaborating teaching staff
- PhD hired teaching staff
- Associate teaching staff
- Interim civil servant teaching staff
- Interim relief teaching staff.
- Emeritus professors are expressly excluded from this plan as they are retired persons
The one-month period shall not be interrupted by a change of category or contract.
In order to join the plan, the interested parties must express their willingness to join the plan, have the capacity to join under the terms established in the Revised Text of the Pension Plans and Funds Law and complementary or substitute provisions, and accept the operating rules of this Plan and those of its corresponding Fund in their entirety and without limitation.
Interested persons must complete this application that will be recibed by the USC Management, where they will check the data and place the staff in the corresponding subplan.
The management will process the registration applications with Abanca. When the registration is formalised, the Abanca branch chosen in the application will contact the interested party to arrange an appointment in which the exact conditions of membership to the USC Pension Plan (amount of contributions, frequency, etc.) will be specified and signed.
By the participants, the contributions may be:
- Periodic, on a monthly, quarterly, semi-annual or annual basis
- Extraordinary. These are those in which the participant may carry out their will, whether or not on a one-time basis, and without adhering to any pre-established frequency or amount.
In turn, the University of Santiago de Compostela, when so stated in its annual budgets, will contribute to the plan an annual amount to be distributed proportionally among all active participants in the plan.
Secondly, as established in the Personal Income Tax Law, in general, the contributions of the participants and those made by the university, jointly, may not exceed the financial limit of €8,000. These limits may vary depending on state regulations, and can be consulted on the Tax Agency's website (www.aeat.es).
The contributions made by the university, if any, have a "neutral" effect on the income tax return, since they will be included as earned income and will be reduced from the taxable income.
The individual contributions (periodic or extraordinary) made by the participant will be reduced from the taxable base of their personal income tax with the tax limits established by law.
The money in the Pension Plan can be recovered when any of these circumstances occur:
- Retirement or similar situation of the participant.
- Permanent, absolute, total and severe disability affecting the participant.
- In case of severe dependence or high dependence.
- The beneficiaries will recover the money upon the death of the participant.
In addition, participants may exercise their vested rights in the following exceptional cases:
- Serious illness
- Long-term unemployment.
Amount
The benefit will be determined by the contributions made plus the net income obtained; the sum of the two concepts is called "vested rights".
Collection methods
You may receive the benefit in the following ways:
- Capital: one-time payment.
- Income: temporary or life annuity, which can be of two types:
- Temporary financial income
- Actuarial annuity income.
- Mixed: combination of capital - income.
- Others: Non-periodic payments.
The law allows the participant maximum flexibility in determining the form and term of payment of the benefit.
Taxation
When the benefit of a Pension Plan is received, it will be fully included in the general Personal income tax taxable income, as earned income.
With respect to contributions made before 31 December 2006, the Personal Income Tax Law provides for a transitional regime whereby the participant will have a 40% reduction in the amount of the benefit, provided that it is received in the form of capital.
The participants themselves will acquire the status of beneficiaries when they exercise the right to receive the benefits to which they are entitled for any of the following contingencies:
- Retirement or similar situation
- Total and absolute permanent disability
- Major disability
- Severe dependence and Great Dependence.
Individuals who exercise the right to receive widow's or widower's benefits, orphan's benefits or benefits in favour of other heirs upon the death of the participant, according to the last express designation of beneficiaries made by the participant, will also be beneficiaries.
If there is no express designation by the participant, these will be the beneficiaries, in preferential and exclusive order:
- Children and descendants, regarding their parents and ascendants.
- Lack of children or descendants, parents and ascendants, regarding children and descendants.
- Widowed spouse.
- Other legal heirs.
The participants of the USC Pension Plan may, at any time, contact any Abanca branch to make an express designation of beneficiaries, or to modify a designation already made.
The transfer from an Individual Plan to the USC Pension Plan does not imply any economic or fiscal cost, being Abanca Vida y Pensiones the one who takes care of the management with the managing entity of the Individual Plan.
If you choose to make the transfer, you will enjoy the following advantages:
- Less commissions will be paid
- There will be greater control, thanks to the existence of the Control Committee (a figure that does not exist in Individual Plans).
It is important for participants to note that the vested rights in the Individual Plan, once incorporated into the USC Pension Plan, can only be mobilised in the event of termination of the employment relationship with the university or termination of the USC Pension Plan.
Moving to an Individual plan is only possible in two cases:
- When the individual terminates their employment relationship with the university and the pension plan regulations permit it
- For termination of the plan.
The university may move the totality of the shares corresponding to the rights of the staff to another pension plan. In order to do so, the Plan Control Committee must approve it with the majority of votes indicated in the plan's regulations.