Affiliation to Social Security

Affiliation to Social Security is the administrative process by which a person is recognized by the General Treasury of Social Security as included in the system. This is because said person performs a specific economic activity.

Affiliation with Social Security is a mandatory process for any worker who, whether of Spanish or foreign nationality, carries out a certain economic activity in the territory.

Thus, when a person enters to work in a company or begins an activity on their own, as long as they are included in the activities shown by current legislation, they must communicate their situation, as well as proceed to register with Social Security. When a person joins Social Security, this system provides the worker with a document with an identification number. This is the number that identifies the worker to the system.

Through the process of affiliation to Social Security, the rights to receive are acquired, as well as to make use of the resources of said system.

In the case of the benefits offered by Social Security, the right is acquired based on obligations that define the amount of said benefit.

Who can join Social Security?

Registration with Social Security may be requested by any Spanish citizen who, while residing in the country, is carrying out a certain economic activity that is included in the established legislation.

Foreign citizens who, legally residing in the territory, are carrying out a certain economic activity, which, in addition, is included in the legislation, can also join.

Membership is applicable, in turn, to any citizen for whom, working as an employee, membership is requested by a company.

How can I join Social Security?

When a person, resident in the country and regardless of their nationality, is developing an economic activity, they can, and should, request their affiliation to Social Security.

For this, the person, if he is employed by someone else, will be registered by the employer. This will request the Social Security number to the person, or to the administration if it does not have it. Subsequently, the company is in charge of registering the employee, as well as contributing, accordingly, to Social Security. In this way, the employee is insured before the General Treasury of the Social Security.

On the other hand, if the person is self-employed, they must fill in the corresponding forms at the Tax Agency. These cards must be delivered together with your identity document, whether national or foreign.

With the documentation and forms completed, the application must be submitted to the General Treasury of the Social Security. They must also be delivered to the corresponding administration, or company for which they work. In this way, you can start the process.

In the event that, for reasons of a different nature, the person cannot present their documentation in person, there are alternatives for membership. Among these alternatives, Social Security makes the telematic means available to the worker, as well as the electronic headquarters.

Affiliate rights and obligations

To be insured in Social Security, the insured must comply with a series of obligations to, therefore, have the rights that it offers.

Here we have detailed some of the obligations, as well as rights, that the insured has:

Obligations:

• Contribution to the SS is mandatory in all the systems of the system.
• The obligation to quote arises from the moment the activity begins.
• They are responsible for complying with the obligation to contribute and for the payment of other resources to the SS.
• In the event that the responsibility for the obligation to contribute corresponds to the employer, the collection procedure established in this law and its implementing regulations may be directed against whoever actually receives the provision of services from the workers they employ.

Rights:

• Health care in cases of maternity, common or professional illness and accident, whether or not it is work.
• Professional recovery, the origin of which can be seen in any of the cases mentioned in the previous paragraph.
• Economic benefits for situations of temporary disability.
• Family benefits of the SS, in the contributory and non-contributory modality.
• The benefits of social services that may be established in the field of training and rehabilitation of people with disabilities and assistance to the elderly.
• Social care.
• Any benefit of a public nature that is intended to complement the contributory benefits of the SS.